Through the Stars
by Krazy Ky-Sta Hatter
Summary: A rewrite of Season 4 to include Rose. Sequel to 'A Life with Rose'. Rose and the Doctor continue their journey through the stars… But it seems the universe has a message for the new couple and their friend Donna. Something big is coming... but what?
1. Time Crash, Past and Present

_**Hey everyone! Welcome back! So here we are with the first part of 'Through the Stars'. My sequel to 'A Life with Rose' which you seemed to love so much! So here's my rewrite of Season 4.**_

_**Hey here's a crazy fact: I am currently writing 12 Doctor Who stories at the same time! So if you're reading some of my other fics (which I recommend you do), if I'm slow on the updates for one of them, it's probably because I'm focusing a little more strongly on one of the others at the time. But hey, I've got a big Time Lord brain. I can handle thinking of a few dozen things at once ;D**_

_**So, anyway, here's Time Crash. I tried to put Rose in there as much as possible, it was a little hard considering it's literally a personal conversation for the Doctor. I've explained away something that's always bugged me, and I've fixed up the Time Lines! (I've always believed that Martha leaves some time in the morning, then suddenly after Time Crash (which happens right after) it's night - and he didn't even go through time!) And Since I ended 'A life with Rose' on a suggestive note… how about we start with one!**_

_**Enjoy!**_

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><p>.<p>

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***Time Crash***

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**Past and Present**

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"So," the Doctor said. "Where to next?"

"Well, I certainly wouldn't complain about staying here," Rose replied. She snuggled into him further, pressing her naked body against his under the covers. "But knowing you, you're itching to start running about."

"Not exactly complaining, either," he murmured, nuzzling into her neck. "But we do have to move at some point-"

"We've barely stopped moving," she teased.

"-We've been here an entire day," he grinned. "Besides, I was thinking of a nice peaceful place anyway. We've been through _far _too much recently. Ooh, how about a nice party. Nothing bad ever happens at parties!"

Rose looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Really?" He nodded enthusiastically. "So, you don't remember that party in France with the clockwork robots. Or the Cybermen invasion on the parallel world. Or the coronation with the Wire. Or Donna's wedding reception. Or Lazarus' party. Or the village dance in 1913?"

"Okay, I get your point…" he said, sounding slightly sulky. "But I still want to go to a party."

"Alright then," Rose grinned. "Anywhere, anywhen. Let's go to a party."

"Oh…" he suddenly sounded a little down cast. "That means you have to put clothes on…"

"Don't worry," she told him, slipping from the covers. "I'll find something nice. And then you'll have to stay very close to me to ward off anyone who tries to hit on me." She grinned her gorgeous tongue in teeth grin, before walking rather flirtatiously - and oh so naked - out of the room.

It took a moment for the Doctor to stop staring at the now empty doorway and get up to get dressed. He wasn't thinking too fancy at the moment, so he only changed into his blue pinstripes.

Then he headed down to the console room and began to program in co-ordinates of a fun, but classy party he remembered being in the 45th century on the Mars Colony Bowie Base 20. (He specifically checked that he got the date right. He didn't want to end up on Bowie Base 1!) He flicked down the switch. Suddenly the TARDIS gave a huge lurch. Shuddering uncontrollably, spinning and tossing about. He was thrown backwards onto the jump seat. With the force pinning him down, it took a bit of effort to get back up and push the necessary buttons on the console.

"Stop that. Stop it!" he admonished, tapping on the time rotor. "What was all that about, eh? Eh? What's your problem?"

**?...DW…?**

After being thrown off her feet in the hallway, Rose ran to the console room. She arrived just in time of hear the Doctor speaking to the TARDIS and to see an oddly familiar man appear out of nowhere. He wore a hat and an Edwardian cricket outfit with a cream coat and a stick of… celery. He instantly turned to the console and began pressing buttons as if he knew what he was doing.

"Right, just settle down, now," he told the TARDIS.

As the two men danced around the console they bumped into each other, apologised… and carried on. Then, suddenly, they seemed to notice that someone else was trying to fly the TARDIS and walked right up to each other, somewhat bewildered. The Doctor's eyes widened in disbelief.

"What?" the Doctor cried.

"What?" said the man. It was at that moment that she realised who the man was. He looked so familiar because she had seen him in some of the Doctor's memories… albeit younger. It was the Doctor in his fifth incarnation!

"Oh my _god!_" she cried. Suddenly both men turned to look at her, and two pairs of mouths fell to the floor.

The Doctor stared at her it awe. She looked utterly gorgeous. She was wearing a halter dress of red silk and chiffon. It fit to her perfectly and swept to the ground. A split ran up the front right side of it, stopping at the top of her thigh. He could see a fair amount of leg sticking through, and she wasn't even walking. He had half the mind to drag her back to where they had spent the last thirteen hours and take it off.

Rose smirked when she noticed his reaction. "Doctor, your jaw is on the ground," she informed him teasingly. Simultaneously, both Doctors closed their mouths with audible clicks. She made her way over to them and the younger Doctor (who strangely looked older) seemed to notice the older one. He grew serious again, looking almost angry.

"Who are you?" he snapped at his tenth self.

"Oh, brilliant!" her Doctor grinned manically. "I mean, totally wrong, big emergency, universe goes bang in five minutes but… _brilliant!_"

"I'm the Doctor. Who are you?" Five tried again, still sounding annoyed.

"Yes, you are!" Ten grinned, nodding his head. "You are the Doctor."

"Yes, I am. I'm the Doctor."

"Oh, good for you, Doctor. Good for brilliant old you!" Rose's Doctor was ecstatic… and it just seemed to be making his old self somewhat even more annoyed.

"Is there something wrong with you?" he asked quite seriously. At this Rose burst into laughter.

"You have no idea!" she told him.

"Oh, there it goes!" Ten cried gleefully. "The frowny face! I remember that one! Mind you…" his voice and face fell a little as he took Five's face in his hands and smushed his cheeks. "Bit saggier than it ought to be, hairs a bit greyer. That's because of me though," he stepped back to fiddle with the TARDIS. "The two of us together has shorted out the time differential. Should all snap back in place when we get you back home. Be able to close that coat again." He reached over and attempted to pull the cream coloured coat closed. Then he seemed to get all ecstatic again, the temporary seriousness gone. "But never mind that! Look at you! The hat, the coat, the crickety cricket stuff, the…"

"Stick of celery?" Rose teased.

"Yeah…" Ten said in his squeaky voice. "Brave choice celery. But fair play to you - not a lot of men can carry off a decorative vegetable."

"Looks better than a banana," Rose added. "Could you imagine that? A banana pinned to the front of your coat? It would be quite heavy… And knowing you, it would be gone in an hour at most."

"Why do you think I never went with the banana?" Ten winked at her.

"Shut up!" Five suddenly snapped, making them freeze. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose noticed how quiet her Doctor had gone. Kudos to his past self. She had only really ever gotten him this quiet by pressing her lips to his (albeit a recently discovered talent). Five whipped off his hat and continued speaking. "There is something wrong with my TARDIS and I've got to do something about it very, very quickly. And it would help, it would really help, if there weren't some skinny idiot ranting in my face about everything that happens to be in front of him, and his rather distracting girlfriend!"

"Mmm, welcome to the last three years of my life," Ten muttered. Five shot him a glare. "Oh. Okay. Sorry, Doctor," he said. But he couldn't help himself grinning and swaying about on his feet in the way Rose always thought was quite adorable.

"Thank you," Five said in exasperation, turning to work on the console. And Ten couldn't help himself anymore.

"Oh! The back of my head!" he exclaimed.

"What?"

"Sorry, sorry, not something you see every day, is it, the back of your own head," he said, leaning up to get a closer look. "Mind you, I see why you wear a hat. I don't want to seem vain, but could you keep that on?"

"God, you're rude to everyone, aren't you?" Rose laughed incredulously. Her Doctor just winked at her.

"What have you done to my TARDIS?" Five suddenly rounded on them. "You've changed the desktop theme… what is this one, then? Coral?"

"You can change the appearance of the console?" Rose asked. She didn't know why she was so surprised. The TARDIS changed the appearance of rooms quite easily. And she'd seen a different console room a few times in his memories

"Well…" Ten hummed at the same time as her.

"It's worse than the leopard skin," Five said, putting on a pair of half moon specs. He looked up, alarmed, when Ten began jumping about the place again.

"Oh! There they come! The brainy specs! You don't even need them, you just think they make you look a bit clever!"

"Ha!" Rose cried, just as happy. She pointed a finger in her Doctor's face. "I knew it! I knew it! And he finally admits it!-" She was cut off when an alarm suddenly began to blare through the room.

"That's an alert," Five cried. "Level five. Indicates a temporal collision. It's like two TARDISes have merges, but there's definitely only one TARDIS present. Looks like two time zones at war in the heart of the TARDIS. That's a paradox. Could blow a hole in the space-time continuum the size of…" Ten, who had been standing there calmly the entire time, tilted the monitor around for him to see. "Well, actually, the exact size of Belgium. That a bit underdramatic, isn't it? Belgium?"

"Do you remember this?" Rose asked her Doctor quietly.

"Starting to," he replied. "Not much at the moment, but it will come to me… Tell you what though, you certainly made an impression." Rose giggled and gave him a shove. Five looked at them in annoyance as he bent down to work at the console. "Need this?" he asked Five, holding out the sonic-screwdriver.

"No, I'm fine."

This of course, set Ten off again. "Oh no, of course, you mostly went hands free, didn't you?" he said sarcastically. "It's like 'hey, I'm the Doctor! I can save the universe with a kettle and some string. And look at me, I'm wearing a vegetable'!"

Rose sighed in exasperation and sat on the jump seat to watch the two men. The ramble just made Five angrier. He waked right up to Ten, looking him in the eye. "Who are you?"

"Take a look," Ten said softly.

It began to dawn on Five and his eyes widened. "Oh… oh, no."

"Oh yes."

"You're… oh, no, you're…"

"Here it comes," Ten grinned. "Yeah, yeah, I am."

"A fan!" Five cried in disgust. Instantly he turned away and began on the console again.

"Yeah… What?" Ten cried suddenly realising what the past him had said. Rose burst into laughter, doubling over. It was a struggle for her to make her way back over to his side to comfort him. Little good that would do anyway. His past self had just severely wounded his ego!

"Level ten now. This is bad. Two minutes to Belgium."

"What do you mean 'a fan'?" Ten pouted incredulously. "I'm not just a fan, I'm you!"

"Okay, you're my biggest fan," Five waved him off. "Look, it's perfectly understandable. I go zooming around space and time saving planets, fighting monsters and being, well, let's be honest… pretty sort of marvellous!" Ten suddenly took a very smug look of agreement. Causing Rose to bury her face in her hands… thankfully that hid her smile too. "And naturally every now and then people notice me… start up their little groups. That L.I.N.D.A. lot… are you one of them? How did you get in here? I can't have you lot knowing where I live." He brandished a finger in Ten's face before moving off around the console again.

Rose and her Doctor rolled their eyes at each other at the mention of L.I.N.D.A. before Ten ran off after his previous self.

"Listen to me, I'm you! I'm you with a new face. Check out this bone structure, Doctor, because one day you're going to be shaving it!" he teased slapping his own cheeks.

Then an alarm like a gong resounded through the TARDIS.

"Aww, not the Cloister Bell!" Rose groaned.

"The Cloister Bell!" Five exclaimed at the same time. The Tenth Doctor, however, looked as if he'd just had an epiphany.

"Yep, right on time. That's my cue," he announced and jumped over to the console. Five joined him.

"In less than a minute we're going to detonate a black hole strong enough to swallow the entire universe!"

Ten paused a moment and began tugging guiltily at his ear. "Yeah, that's my fault, actually," he admitted. "I was rebuilding the TARDIS and I was about to put the shield back up but…" he glanced over at Rose. "Well, I got a little… distracted…" Five's eyebrows went up when he noticed Ten glance at said distraction. "Your TARDIS and my TARDIS… well the same TARDIS, different points in its own time stream collided and, oop, there you go, end of the universe. Butterfingers. But don't worry, I know exactly how this all works out. Watch!" He began to race madly around the console. Rose just stood back and let him go at it. "Venting the thermal-buffer. Flooring the Helmic regulator. And just to finish off, let's fry those Ziton crystals.

Rose's eyes widened as her brain put all those pieces together. "Wait, Doctor-" she cried.

"You'll blow up the TARDIS!" Five cried, trying to stop him.

"Only way out," Ten told them. Rose stopped, trusting him instantly.

"Who told you _that_?" Five cried, his voice starting to squeak like her Doctor's did.

"You told me that!" Ten cried. Pulling his hand free, he slammed it down on the button and then reached over for Rose. He didn't want her to hurt herself. This part had always been a bit hazy.


	2. Time Crash, Love to Long Ago

**Love to Long Ago**

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When the light faded, Rose looked up to see the Doctor… both of them staring out in front of them. Her Doctor had a grin starting to creep along his face. Rose realised exactly what he had done.

"Oh my god!" She grinned, her eyes glistening with excitement. "Did you just create a supernova and black hole at the exact same time?"

"Yep!" he popped the 'p'. "Explosion cancels out the implosion."

"Matter stays constant," Five added.

"Brilliant."

"Far too brilliant!" Five exclaimed. "I've never met anyone else who could fly the TARDIS like that."

"Sorry, mate, you still haven't." He moved off around the console followed by Five. "Well, she'll probably give you a run for your money." He nodded affectionately towards Rose.

"You didn't have time to work all that out, even I couldn't do it!" Five cried after him.

"I didn't work it out," Ten told him, stopping to face the younger him. "I didn't have to."

Finally, Five seemed to get it. "You remembered," he realised.

"Because you will remember… when the Cloister Bell goes off, of course."

"You remembered being me… watching you, doing that. You already knew what to do because I watched you do it!"

"Wibbley wobbly…" Ten started.

"Timey Wimey!" the three of them finished together. The Doctor went to give himself a high five, but Five just stared at his raised hand in confusion. Taking pity on him, Rose slapped his hand instead.

"And who might this be?" Five said turning to her, his tone oddly sultry. "Latest companion I assume?"

"Err, no. Our _latest _companion just left us. Rose had been here for a good few years now."

"Yep, and that's never going to change," Rose grinned. As Five stared at her a look of confusion crossed his face.

"Wait a minute are you…? What species are you?"

"Human," Rose replied out of habit.

"Time Lady," Ten said at the same time. The two of them looked at each other as Five's look of confusion grew even more. "Yeah, it's complicated. You can try and figure it out when you're me though." Just then another alarm went off. "Right! TARDISes are separating. Sorry, Doctor, time's up. Back to long ago… Where are you now? Nyssa and Tegan. Cybermen and Mara and Time Lords in funny hats and the Master? Oh, he just showed up again, same as ever."

"Right creep," Rose muttered.

"Oh, no. Really?" Five almost laughed. "Does he still have that rubbish beard?"

"No… no beard this time… Well, a wife."

"Psychotic wife!" Rose put in.

"Well, obviously," Five laughed at that. Then before them he began to fade. "Oh, I seem to be off. What can I say? Thank you… Doctor, Rose."

"Thank you," Ten said sincerely.

"I'm very welcome," Five's voice echoed as he started to disappear again, but spotting his hat on the console, Ten flicked a switch and bought him back.

"You know," Ten said passing him the hat with a fond smile. "I loved being you. Back when I first started, at the beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you're young. And then I was you… and it was all dashing about and playing cricket and my voice going all squeaky when I shouted-"

"He still does that," Rose laughed.

"Yep, got that from you. Oh!" Suddenly he swung his foot up onto the console. "And the trainers and…" He took down his foot, reached in his pocket and stuck on his glasses. "…_Snap_. Because you know what, Doctor? You were my Doctor."

Five smiled at him and tipped his hat. "It was a pleasure, Doctor. Rose, I really do look forward to meeting you," he said flirtatiously. "To days to come."

"All my love to long ago," Ten said then with another flick, Five was gone.

"Oh, Doctor, keep your hands off Rose long enough to put your shields up!" his voice called back to them.

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other innocently… but it was all too much and soon they were in hysterics on the floor.

"Oh god! Doctor… were you flirting with me?"

"Yep, yes I was," he said wiping tears from his eyes. "Which was strangely out of character… then again, it _is_ you." Rose gave him a nudge.

"Wait a minute… You told him I was a Time Lady, and he figured we were together… Did you know this was going to happen all along?"

"No," he replied. "I was clever and figured that I'd found out too much. I didn't want to mess with time, so I repressed those memories. Blocked them off until the Cloister Bell went off."

"That makes sense," she smiled.

"Yep, although… Now that makes much more sense. I always thought I recognised you when we first met. And to say the truth I was a little upset when you turned me down the first time. Little bit of memory leaking through. Just felt as if you were meant to be with me. One of the many reasons I asked a second time."

"Well, I'm glad you did," Rose grinned, hugging him.

Suddenly they were both thrown to the floor and debris rained down around them. There was a loud foghorn noise that made them cover their ears. The Doctor moved his body to protect her from anything else that was falling. When the shaking and falling things stopped, they looked up to get quite a shock. The hull of a ship had smashed through the side of the TARDIS.

"What?" the Doctor cried. He scrabbled up off Rose. "_What?_"

Rose saw a life ring lying near by and looked at it. "What?" she said in disbelief. She held it up and showed it to the Doctor. His face fell.

"What," he said in a low voice. They just looked at each other, then back up at the hull of the ship.

The Titanic.

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><p><em><strong>See! So time is fixed and the 10th Doctor's forgetfulness and shock explained! Sorry it was such a short chapter. I'll make it up to you in Voyage of the Damned, I promise!<strong>_


	3. Voyage of the Damned, Titanic

_**Hello! Welcome aboard the Titanic. Don't worry, this ship is unsinkable, so even if the Doctor does magnetize some danger to us, we're not going to crash =D**_

_**LOL, Yeah Right!**_

_**Hey, just thought I'd remind you all that I have a page on Facebook. I post updates, sneak peeks, images and much more. So check it out!**_

_**www (dot) facebook (dot) com/pages/Krazy-Ky-sta-Hatter/211442535611697**_

_**Enjoy!**_

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***Voyage of the Damned***

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**Titanic**

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In an instant, the Doctor was helping Rose to her feet and dashing about the console. He chucked another life ring off it and wound at a leaver. Slowly the TARDIS backed up and the inside merged back together as the hull moved out. Then with the pull of another leaver they dematerialised onto the ship.

Cautiously they both stuck their head out. Stepping out they gave their selves a quick sweep off and headed to where they could hear the sound of laughter and voices.

"What's going on?" Rose asked. "How the hell could we have crashed into the _Titanic_?"

"I have no idea," he told her. "But we'll have to be careful. I've been on the Titanic before. Wasn't long before I met you, actually." They reached so sort of lobby and he looked about curiously. "Although… I'm not too sure it was _this_ Titanic…"

He slipped his hand into hers as they walked around trying to look casual. They came to a stop in front of a life size white and gold masculine Christmas angel. As they looked at it, it changed position with a mechanical sound. The Doctor looked at it, taken aback. Okay, that's strange. There shouldn't be something like that on the Titanic. At the sound of a strange voice, they turned to see a tiny red man with a spiky head walking about, talking to some women who laughed with him.

Okay… definitely not right… The Doctor moved over to a window and looked out.

"Right…" he said in realisation, drawing the word out. Rose came over to the window and began to giggle.

"Well, that makes more sense," she said when she saw the great expanse of space before them.

'_Attention all passengers,_' said a voice over the PA. '_The Titanic is now in orbit above Sol 3, also known as Earth. Population: Human._' Rose and the Doctor looked at each other in amusement.

"Well, Rose Tyler, I did promise you a party," the Doctor grinned. Then he grabbed her hand and dragged her back into the TARDIS.

"What are you doing?" she laughed.

"Well, I need to get changed, and you need to get fixed up," he told her, picking a piece of debris from her hair. Rose laughed and kissed him on the cheek before spinning off into the bathroom.

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When they were both done, the Doctor looked all proper in his tux and black converse. And Rose was clean and had her hair piled up on top of her head in a graceful swirl. She really did look stunning in that red dress.

"Oh, no," she said looking him up and down. "Are you sure it's such a good idea to wear the Tux of Doom on the T-"

"Don't you dare even finish that sentence," he scolded her. "Can't have you jinxing it."

"Yes, Sir," she treated him to her tongue in teeth smile. Grinning, he offered her his arm and they made their way back into the lobby.

**?...DW…?**

After wandering around a little, Rose pointed out something to the Doctor. All around the room were various frames with a video of a man playing. Curiously they went to watch. It started with the Ships logo then revealed a bald man with a golden tooth, in a suave suit.

"Max Capricorn Cruise liners. The fastest, the farthest, the _best_. And I should know, because my name is Max." He gave a grin that, in Rose's opinion, was quite smarmy, and his gold tooth glinted like a cheesy cartoon. Shaking his head, the Doctor led them away into the main reception hall.

"Merry Christmas, Sir, Ma'am," the Steward said to them.

"Merry Christmas," they replied. And then they stepped into the hall which was in full party mode. A singer on the stage was singing a saucy version of 'Winter Wonderland'.

"Wow, another Christmas already," Rose grinned. "You know, I could have sworn it was Christmas yesterday," she joked. Because for them, it had been Christmas. A year and a day… it had been Christmas the night they were taken up to the _Valiant_.

They smiled cheekily at each other and started to mingle. It was all they could do not to giggle when a man walked past on some sort of cell phone.

"It's not a holiday for me, not while I've still got my vone," he said cheerfully. Then suddenly his voice dropped and became cold. "Now, do as I say and _sell_!" Rose and the Doctor raised their eyebrows in amusement as the man stalked off. Then the Doctor spotted another of those Angels that were dotted around the place.

"Time to find out a thing or two," he said leading them over to the angel. "Evening," he said to it. "Passenger 57. Terrible memory. Remind me. Uh, you would be…?"

"Information: Heavenly Host supplying tourist information," the angel said.

"Good, so, um… tell me - because I'm an idiot." Rose snorted at this. "Where are we from?"

"Information: The Titanic is en route from the planet Sto in the Casivanian Belt. The purpose of the cruise is to experience primitive cultures."

"Titanic," Rose muttered. "Who thought of _that_ name?"

"Information: It was chosen as the most famous vessel of the planet Earth."

"Yeah, and did they tell you why it was famous?" she scoffed incredulously.

"Information: All designations are chosen by Mr Max Capricorn, president of Max - Max - Max - Max-" It just kept repeating the same word over and over like a stuck record. Its head jerked back and forth each time and subconsciously Rose and the Doctor followed it with their own heads, doing almost the same movement as they watched in almost in bewilderment.

"Ooh, bit of a glitch," the Doctor said going for his sonic-screwdriver. But he was beat to it by the staff.

"Sir, we can handle this," the Chief Steward smiled nervously as he and two other stewards came and switched it off, taking it away. "Software problem, that's all. Leave it with us. Merry Christmas." As he walked away they could hear him talking to the others in a hushed, worried voice.

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After going around a bit, they were distracted by the sound of breaking glass. They turned to see a waitress looking up with wide eyes at a rather angry man, the same man who had been talking on his vone.

"For Tov's sake, look where you're going!" he shouted at her. "This Jacket's a genuine Earth antique."

"I'm sorry, Sir," the waitress said dejectedly, bending to pick up the glass.

"You'll be sorry when it comes out of your wages, Sweetheart. Staffed by idiots. No wonder Max Capricorn is going down the drain." Both Rose and the Doctor moved at the same time, but to different people.

"Oi, Mate!" Rose said angrily. "That's not any way to treat someone, staff or otherwise. It wasn't her fault and you have no right to talk to her like that. Now apologise to her or bugger off!" The man shot her a glare, before turning on his heal and stalking off. Rose huffed angrily before turning to help the waitress and the Doctor pick up the broken glass.

"Careful. There we go," the Doctor grinned at the woman.

"Thank you, Sir. I can manage," she said politely, her head down.

"I never said you couldn't," he smiled at her. "I'm the Doctor, by the way. And this is Rose."

"Hello," Rose put in.

"I'm Astrid, Sir, Ma'am. Astrid Peth."

"Nice to meet you, Astrid Peth. Merry Christmas." At this, Astrid seemed very surprised, as if no one said things like that to her.

"Merry Christmas, Sir," she said happily.

"Just 'Doctor', not 'Sir'," the Doctor told her.

"And if you start going on at me with that 'Ma'am business…" Rose left the cheeky, empty threat hanging, but grinned broadly to show Astrid she was only teasing.

"You enjoying the cruise?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's great," Rose told her. "It's nice to just relax for a bit. Just the two of us again."

"It is pretty good, isn't it?" the Doctor grinned at her before turning to Astrid. "What about you? Long way from home, planet Sto." The three of them stood as the last of the glass was picked up.

"Doesn't feel that different," she shrugged. "I spent three years working at the spaceport diner, travelled all the way here… and I'm still waiting on tables." Then she walked away.

"Ouch," Rose whispered. "Looks like she jumped on the wrong ship." Curiously, she and the Doctor followed, happy to have someone new to talk to.

"No shore leave?" the Doctor asked Astrid as she cleared a table by the window.

"We're not allowed," she told them. "They can't afford the insurance. I just wanted to see it, just once. I used to watch the ships heading off to the stars and I always dreamt of… it sounds daft."

"You dreamt of another sky," Rose said softly, understanding what she meant. Once she had tasted it once, it wasn't enough to just stay behind. "You wanted to be swept off your feet and see it all. New suns, new air, new life. A whole universe of it. Who'd want to stand still when there's all that wonder out there."

The Doctor smiled at her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to lean against the windowsill with him.

"S-so you travel a lot?" Astrid asked, seeming to break out of a reverie.

"All the time," the Doctor told her. "Just for fun. Well, that's the plan. Never quite works." He gave a grin.

"Oh, we have plenty of fun," Rose rolled her eyes.

"Must be rich, though," Astrid said.

"Haven't got a penny," the Doctor said happily. Then he leaned in surreptitiously and put on a stage whisper. "We're stowaways."

"Kidding?"

"Seriously," he replied.

"No!" she exclaimed.

"Yep," Rose laughed.

"How did you get on board?"

"Accident," the Doctor told her. "We have this, sort of, ship thing. I was just rebuilding her. Left the defences down, got… somewhat distracted, bumped into the Titanic. Here we are. And I'd promised Rose a party, so I thought 'why not?'."

"I should report you," she said seriously, but they knew by the look on her face she wouldn't.

"Go on then," the Doctor called her bluff.

Astrid looked off to where everyone was partying then turned back. "I'll get you two a drink… on the house," she whispered the last part.

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After she left Rose and the Doctor took to the dance floor. Swinging about and, as usual, quite frankly, showing everyone else up. They danced a couple of songs until they decided to sit down a while. They went and sat at a table where a rather large couple in purple country western costumes sat eating, looking fairly disgruntled. Standing around the table behind them were a bunch of snooty people laughing like they'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Something's got them tickled, doesn't it?" Rose said as she sat down.

"They told us it was fancy dress," the woman said. "Very funny, I'm sure."

"They're just picking on us because we haven't paid," the dark man said. "We won out tickets in a competition," he pointed proudly to the woman.

"I had to name the five husbands of Juthy Crystal in 'By the Light of the Asteroid'. Do you ever watch in 'By the Light of the Asteroid'?"

The Doctor thought for a moment. "Is that the one with the twins?" he asked uncertainly. Rose just sat there blankly. She hadn't seen any TV - other than movies - since she started travelling with the Doctor. Not even Earth ones, let alone ones from other galaxies. And she had gone _right_ off reality TV after Satellite 5 - the Game Station.

"That's it. Oh, it's marvellous!" the woman gushed.

"Probably not good enough for that lot," the man nodded to the laughing crowed. "They think we should be in steerage."

"Hmm, let's put a Faludge in their pants, see how they laugh then," Rose huffed. She hated bullies. She'd had her fair share of them at school. It taught her to be quite staunch, and she eventually learnt to hold her own. A half fluffy and tickly, half slimy and icky slug like creature in their pants seemed like very good payback.

The Doctor laughed at her and reached into his pocket, subtly pulling out the sonic-screwdriver. "We can't have them thinking that, can we?" he said innocently. Then he pressed the button, aiming behind him and slowly pushed the tip up, changing the pressure of the setting. With a sudden 'pop' the cork in the Champagne bottle at the table shot out. And the entire table of snobs were sprayed with the sticky liquid.

The large couple in front of them had watched him use the sonic and stared behind him with open mouths, amusement starting to cross their features.

"Did - did you do that?" the woman asked.

"Maybe," the Doctor shrugged, putting the sonic screwdriver away. Finally the couple began to laugh and the man clapped his hands.

"Oh, we like you," the woman grinned.

"We do," the man agreed. He reached his hand across to shake the Doctor's "I'm Morvin Van Hoff. This is my good woman, Foon."

"Foon!" the Doctor grinned reaching to shake the woman's hand. "Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is my… Well, she'd probably slap me if I called her my woman, so this is my Rose."

"Nice to meet you," Rose laughed shaking the couples hand.

"You too," Foon smiled at them. "Ooh, I'm gonna need a Doctor by the time I'm finished with this buffet. Have buffalo wing. They must be enormous these buffalo, so many wings!"

Rose giggled as she reached for one of the offered wings. Foon was quite adorable. She and the Doctor had only been nibbling on their wings for a moment when an announcement came over the PA.

'_Attention please. Shore leave tickets Red 6-7 now activated. Red 6-7_.'

Morvin and Foon fumbled about into her pockets a moment before pulling out a red ticket each. "Red 6-7, that's us," Foon said. She and Morvin stood, and then looked back down at Rose and the Doctor. "Are you Red 6-7?"

"Might as well be," the Doctor shrugged pulling out the psychic paper.

"Come on," Morvin said putting an arm around his wife. "We're going to Earth."

.

An old man stood, holding a giant version of Morvin and Foon's ticket above his head, calling for Red 6-7's. As they made their way over to him, Rose spotted Astrid coming over.

"I got you those drinks," she said.

"And we got you a treat," Rose ginned in reply. Catching on, the Doctor took the tray from Astrid and put it on a nearby table. Together they lead her to the man with the sign. The Doctor walked up to him and held up the psychic paper.

"Red 6-7 plus two," he told the man.

"Uh, quickly, Sir. And please take three teleport bracelets, if you would," the old man stuttered. Smiling the Doctor took the thick metal cuffs from him. He handed one to each lady and put one on himself.

"I'll get the sack!" Astrid hissed at them.

"Brand new sky…" the Doctor said enticingly. Giving in, she clicked the bracelet around her wrist.

"To repeat," said the old man. "I am Mr Copper, the ship's historian. And I shall be taking you to old London town in the country of UK, ruled over by good King Wenceslas. Now, human beings worship the great god Santa, a creature with fearsome claws, and his wife Mary. And every Christmas Ever the people of UK go to war with the country of Turkey." Many of the people around them were looking anxious. The Doctor was standing there, quite perplexed, with his eyebrow's raised. Rose, however, was in hysterics and was struggling to keep her laughter quiet. This guy was crack up! "They then _eat_ the Turkey people for Christmas dinner… like _savages!_"

At this point, the only thing that could be heard was a barely stifled laugh. It was quite infectious for those in the know and the Doctor had to stop himself from laughing too. "Excuse me," he said raising a hand slightly. "Sorry, sorry, but um… where did you get all this from?"

"Well, I have a first class degree in Earthonomics," Mr Copper said. "Now, stand by…"

"And me! And me! Red 6-7!" a squeaky, almost mechanical voice shouted out. Soon the small red spiky alien they had seen earlier pushed his way to the front with a ticket.

"Well, take a bracelet, Sir," Mr Copper said, flustered.

"But, um. Hold on, hold on. What was your name?" he asked Spiky.

"Bannakaffalatta," he squeaked.

"Okay, Bannakaffalatta. But it's Christmas Eve down there. Late night shopping - tones of people. He's like a walking conker!" Bannakaffalatta shot him a look. "No offence, but you'll cause a riot because the streets are going to be packed with shoppers and parties-" But he didn't get any more out, because in the next second, they were standing on a street in the middle of London… "Oh," he said as he realised.

But then he and Rose began to look about in concern. The street was completely empty. Deserted. Even most of the shops were closed! It was Christmas Eve for crying out loud!

"Now," Mr Copper said. "Spending money. I have a credit card in Earth currency if you want to buy trinkets or stockings or the local delicacy, which is known as 'beef'. But don't stray too far, it could be dangerous. Any day now they start boxing!"

Everyone else was staring around in wonder as she drifted apart. Bur Rose and the Doctor still looked about in worry.

"Doctor, where is everyone?" she asked.

"It should be full," he said in a low voice. "It should be busy. Something's wrong."

"But it's beautiful!" Astrid exclaimed. Rose smiled and the Doctor stared at her in surprise.

"Really? Do you think so? It's just a street. They pyramids are beautiful. And New Zealand…"

"You still have to take me there," Rose said.

"But it's a different planet!" Astrid cried excitedly. "I'm standing on a different planet. There's concrete… and shops. Alien shops, real alien shops! Look, no stars in the sky," she said pointing up once she finished bouncing about. "And it smells… It stinks!" she cried, absolutely delighted. Next thing they knew, Astrid hand flung herself at the both of them in a hug. "This is amazing! Thank you!"

The couple just grinned at her. "Come on, then, let's have a look," the Doctor said leading them over to the only open place he could see. It was a newsagent's booth. Inside sat an old man, bundled up in his winter clothes. "Hello there! Sorry, uh, obvious question, but where's everybody gone?"

"Oh-ho, scared!" he snorted.

"Of what?" Rose asked in concern.

"Where have you been living?" he asked in bewilderment.

"Well, I guess you could say I've been living in a bit of a box the last few years," she sniggered.

"London, at Christmas. Not safe, is it?" the old man went on.

"Why?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, it's them, up above. Look, Christmas before last we had that big bloody spaceship, everyone standing on the roof."

"Regeneration," Rose muttered under her breath as the man pointed to a small TV showing a clip of the Sycorax ship.

"And then last year, that Christmas Star electrocuting all over the place, draining the Thames!"

"Donna the mad bride," she muttered. But the old man seemed to hear this and looked at her strangely.

"Eh?" he said as if she'd said something that surprised him.

"This place is amazing!" Astrid breathed.

"And this year," the man went on, still giving Rose a bit of an odd look, "Lord knows what. So everybody's scarpered, gone to the country. All, except me… and Her Majesty!" He stood patriotically as a news reporter told how the Queen was staying in London to show that it was safe. "God bless her! We stand vigil!" he saluted.

"Well," said the Doctor. "Between you and me, I think Her Majesty's got it right. Far as I know, this year, nothing to worry about.-" And suddenly they were all standing back on the Titanic. "I was in midsentence!" he cried in annoyance.

"Poor guy," Rose said. That would not have been a nice little shock for him. There he was, going on about how there would be no extra-terrestrial activity this year, and they just disappear in front of him.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that," Mr Copper said nervously. "A bit of a problem. If I could have your bracelets…"

When the Chief Steward came along, Astrid quickly hid behind Rose and the Doctor's backs. "Apologies, ladies and gentlemen, and Bannakaffalatta," he said. "We seem to have suffered a slight power fluctuation. If you'd like to return to the festivities. And on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruise liners, free drinks will be provided."

Everyone slowly wandered off and Rose and the Doctor turned back to Astrid. "That was the best!" she squealed quietly. "The best!" Then she darted off, leaving Rose and the Doctor smiling broadly. Then the Doctor turned to Rose and raised his eyebrows. In the next second they were up by the Chief Steward.

"What sort of power fluctuation?"


	4. Voyage of the Damned, Crash

**Crash**

.

.

The Doctor grinned brilliantly as he spun Rose back to him. She noticed the exact moment his attention was drawn to the framed talking picture of Max Capricorn for the tenth time in three minutes. She couldn't help but laugh. It was like he couldn't decide which side was winning out: his curiosity, or his desire to just keep dancing with - and gazing at - her.

"Go on, then," she told him, nodding to the frame. He gave her another wide grin, grabbed her hand, and pulled her over to it. She knew how unwilling he was to be separated from her. She could feel it through the bond, and she felt it herself.

He put on his specs and wrenched open the frame after giving it a quick sonic, revealing a mass of wires and plugs behind it. He began fiddling with them instantly. Rose could only guess as to what half of them were, but she somewhat understood what he was doing.

"Anything?" he asked. Rose looked at the screen just as it changed and, with a blipping noise, showed a scan of the ship.

"Yep," she told him. He gave her a smile as he swung it shut… but that smile soon disappeared when he was what was going on. She saw the blinking box saying that the shields were offline. Nervously, she looked out the window. Her eyes widened when she saw three bright fiery dots getting closer. "Doctor," she said. "Please tell me that those aren't three meteors heading right towards us when the shields are down."

He looked over to where she was pointing and his eyes widened too. "Sorry, but those _are_ three meteors heading towards us when the shields are down." Instantly he patched into the comms.

"Ugh, every Christmas!" Rose groaned.

"Is that the bridge?" he asked. "I need to talk to the Captain. You've got a meteoroid storm coming in, West 0 by North 2."

"Who is this?" came a gruff voice.

"Never mind that. Your shields are down. Check your scanners, Captain. You've got meteoroids coming in and no shielding!"

"You have no authorisation. You will clear the comms at once."

"Idiot," Rose muttered under her breath.

"Yeah? Just look starboard!" the Doctor cried.

"Come with me, Sir," a voice said behind them. The next thing they knew, the Chief Steward and another steward were escorting the Doctor from the reception room.

"No, wait. Really, you have to listen to him," Rose begged. "Just look out the window!"

"Yes! Listen to her, she's a smart one, my Rose," the Doctor said. "You've got a rock storm heading for this ship and the shields are down!"

As he fought to get free, Rose ran back into the reception room, everyone looking at her oddly. She jumped up on the stage and snatched the microphone off the singer.

"Everyone! This is an emergency! Look out the window! Get to the lifeb-" she didn't get any further when a Host covered her mouth, grabbing her from behind. One of the Stewards who had been holding the Doctor came over and grabbed her too. "Look out the windows!" she yelled to the passengers as she was dragged away with the Doctor.

The only one that looked like he'd paid any attention was that horrid business man. Concerned as to what was going on, Astrid, Bannakaffalatta, and the Van Hoff's followed after them. They all argued as the stewards dragged Rose and the Doctor through the maintenance corridors.

"The shields are down, we are going to get hit!" the Doctor growled.

"For god's sake! Just stop and _listen_ to him!" Rose cried. It was a little hard to be heard over everyone else trying to say something in their defence.

Then came a voice that Rose never thought she'd be so grateful to hear. "Oi! Steward!" the rude man called. "I'm telling you, the shields are down!"

"Listen to him! Listen to him!" the Doctor pleaded.

.

Suddenly, the ship lurched as the first meteor hit, throwing everyone around. Instantly, amongst the chaos, the Doctor found his way over to Rose and covered her with his body. The ship continued to shake and thrash. Fire blew out at them and metal fell down.

It gave another huge lurch when the second and third meteors hit. As the Doctor and Rose started to find their footing, they were suddenly thrown backwards as something exploded nearby. Finally, the ship was still.

Rose and the Doctor stood and looked around. Their little group was sprawled all over the ground, everyone whimpering and breathing heavily.

"Shh!" the Doctor urged, holding up a finger to silence everyone. They complied as best they could. "It's stopping."

"You alright?" the Doctor asked, helping Astrid up. Rose moved over to give Morvin and Foon a hand.

"I think so," the waitress replied.

"Bad name for a ship," he grumbled. "Either that, or this suit is really unlucky."

"Ever considered it might be the black chucks?" Rose asked, letting out a breath and leaning heavily on one leg, looking for the world like she'd been running. Her hair was coming out, but the wispy strands going everywhere only made her look more beautiful in the Doctor's opinion.

"Don't be ridiculous!" he scoffed. "Nothing could _ever_ be wrong with the converse!"

"Yeah, you got that right," she grinned. "Speaking of, I'm not running through this ship in these death traps. Come here, I've got a pair of shoes in your pocket." Everyone looked at her in bewilderment as she reached into the Doctor's pocket and withdrew a pair of women's red converse.

It was then that the Doctor noticed the Seward lying trapped under a sheet of metal. He didn't appear to be moving. As Rose put on the shoes, he bent down to check the man's pulse… only he didn't find one. He looked back up at the others and shook his head sadly.

"E-everyone…" the Chief Steward stuttered. "Ladies and gentleman, Bannakaffalatta, I must apologize on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruise Liners. We seem to have had a small collision." He was met by incredulous stares and an outburst of angry, disbelieving voices. Only Rose and the Doctor were silent as they found another frame with Max Capricorn and fiddled with it till they got what they wanted.

"If I could have silence, ladies, gentlemen…" Still everyone continued to shout. "Quiet!" the Chief Steward shouted above them. Finally, they fell silent. "Thank you. I-I'm sure Max Capricorn Cruise Liners will be able to reimburse you for any inconvenience. But first, I would point out that we are very much alive."

"See! Optimism, that's what I'm talking about," Rose grinned at the Steward. Astrid called the Doctor over to check out Mr Copper.

"She is, after all, a fine and sturdy ship. If you could all stay here while I ascertain the exact nature of the situation…"

The Doctor looked up just in time to see the Seward reaching for the hatch. "Don't open it!" he cried. But it was too late. He was suddenly sucked out into space by the vacuum. Everyone else began to be dragged off their feet and all quickly grabbed on to the nearest bit of piping they could. The Doctor pushed his way over to the comm. and used the sonic screwdriver on the computer. In seconds, the oxygen shield had healed itself and everyone gasped in relief as they let go.

"Everyone alright?" the Doctor demanded. "Rose?"

"Yeah," she gasped.

"Astrid? Foon? Morvin? Mr Copper? Bannakaffalatta?"

"Yes," the small man replied.

"You, what was your name?" he asked the rude businessman.

"Ah, Rickston Slade."

"You alright?"

"Yeah, no thanks to that idiot," he sneered taking off his tie.

"The Steward just died!" Rose and Astrid said at the same time. Although much different tones. Rose sounded disgusted, she knew that there were people like this out there. Astrid's voice was much quiet and quite distressed.

"Then he's a dead idiot." Rose clenched her fist and prayed to what ever the hell she believed in to give her the strength not to hit the arrogant git. She felt the willpower and calm flow through her bond with the Doctor and she shot him a smile.

"Alright, calm down. Just stay still, all of you. Hold on," the Doctor told them. He and Rose walked over to the opened hatch and looked out at the devastation before them. Debris and bodies floated through space.

Even after seeing all the devastation and all the death in the Year that Never Was, Rose still had to hold down that nauseated feeling at the sight of it. Soon Astrid came to join them

"What happened? How come the shields were down?" she asked them.

"I don't think it was an accident," Rose said. "That Captain was being bloody rude and ignorant."

"How many dead?" Astrid gulped, staring out, horrified at what lay before her.

"We're alive, just focus on that. I will get you out of here." Astrid looked like she were about to be sick. They could see she had already given up hope and didn't quite believe him. "Astrid," he said placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. "I promise. Look at me. I promise." She nodded. "Good," he smiled at her.

"It'll be alright," Rose said softly. "You'll see."

"Now," the Doctor said. "If we can get to Reception, We've got a spaceship tucked away. We can all get on board-"

"Doctor," Rose interrupted him in a dejected tone. Silently she pointed out into space where the TARDIS was floating lazily out in the debris.

"Oh," he said in the same tone.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Astrid asked.

"That's our spaceship there."

"Where?"

"There, that box. That little blue box," he said dismally.

"That's a spaceship!" Astrid nearly scoffed.

"Oi! Leaver her alone," Rose reprimanded. "She's a great little ship."

"Little is right. It's a bit small."

"A bit distant," the Doctor sighed. "Trouble is, once it's set adrift, it's programmed to lock onto the nearest centre of gravity and that would be… the Earth."

"Where's it locked onto exactly?" Rose asked him.

"Well, probably somewhere near the Thames," he told her.

"Right… so we're going to be trekking through this ruined ship, yeah?" The Doctor nodded. "Right then." With that, she reached down, ripped the split in her dress just mid way about her thigh, and ripped sideways. In a few seconds she was tearing the silk layer off and then the chiffon. By the time she was done the halter dress was higher than her knee with a small split that ran to the top of her right thigh. The Doctor was staring at her with an open mouth. "What?" she asked when she saw his expression.

He didn't answer her, instead he took one quick step closer to her, grabbed her gently by the face, and pulled her in for a rather searing, mind numbing snog. Astrid looked away, a little embarrassed.

"What was that for?" she managed to say when they broke apart.

"Do you have any idea how hot you are when you do that?" he asked her quietly.

"I-I'll have to do it more often…" Rose said, still slightly dazed and surprised from the sudden, passionate kiss. If life and death situations were going to be like this now, damn, she was going to hunt down some Sontarans just to be in one!

**?...DW…?**

"Deck 22 to the Bridge," the Doctor said into the comms. "Deck 22 to the Bridge. Is anyone there?"

"This is the bridge," a voice gasped. The man sounded much younger than the Captain.

"Oh hello, Sailor! Good to her you," the Doctor said cheerfully. "What's the situation up there?"

"We've got air," he replied. "The oxygen field is holding. But the Captain… he's dead. He did it. I watched while he took down the shields. There was nothing I could do. I tried. I did try." The poor man's voice was starting to come out in sobs.

"Alright. Just stay calm. Tell me your name. What's you name?"

"Midshipman Frame."

"Nice to meet you, Sir," he said gently. "What's the state of the engines?"

"They're, um…" There was a pause in which nothing but heavy breathing could be heard. "Hold on." Suddenly there came a painful groan.

"Have you been injured?" the Doctor asked in concern.

"I'm alright," the man said, obviously lying. "Oh my Vot. They're cycling down."

"That's a nuclear storm drive, yes?" he asked, rubbing his eye.

"Yeah."

"The moment they're gone, we lose orbit."

"The planet…"

"Oh yes. If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out life on Earth. Midshipman, I need you to fire up the engine containment field and feed it back into the core."

"This is never going to work," Frame said as he did so.

"Trust me, it'll keep the engines going until I can get to the bridge." Then he turned off the comm. and turned back to the others.

.

"We're going to die!" Foon said straight away.

"No, we're not," Rose tried to tell her reassuringly, but she was cut off by everyone else.

"Are you saying someone's done this on purpose?" Mr Copper asked. Soon you couldn't distinguish one word anyone was saying.

"Okay, okay, jus- jus- jus- jus-" the Doctor was trying to say, holding up his fingers for silence.

"Oi!" Rose shouted. At her call everyone fell silent.

"Thank you," the Doctor said. "First things first. One: we're going to climb through this ship. B… no. Two: we're going to reach the bridge. Three - or C: we're going to save the Titanic. And coming in a very low Four, or D, or that little 'IV' in brackets they use in the footnotes… Why? Right then, follow me."

Both he and Rose had started to move when a voice called them back.

"Hang on a minute," Rickston said. "Who put you in charge? And who the hell are you anyway?"

"I'm the Doctor," he said fiercely as they turned back. "I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old, and I'm the man who's going to save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below." Everyone looked at him in awe and bewilderment. "You got a problem with that?"

"No," Rickston said almost defensively.

"In that case then, allons-y!" And he turned… right into Rose who had thrown herself into his arms. She kissed him just as soundly as he had kissed her before.

"What was that for?" he squeaked.

"Do you have _any _idea how hot you were when you did that?" she echoed his words back at him.

"Excuse me," Rickston said in annoyance. "Now is not the time to be making out!"

"Oi, you," Rose said back, just as rudely. "Three years of pent up sexual tension here, do you really wanna get in the way of that?"

Grinning at Rose, the Doctor took her hand and led everyone off.

**?...DW…?**

The Doctor pushed open a metal door to reveal a stairwell littered with fallen debris and sparking cables. It was the best way so far.

"Careful. Follow me," he said steeping in around the fallen metal. He began shifting things out of the way so people could get through.

"Rather ironic," Mr Copper said, "but this is very much in the spirit of Christmas. It's a festival of _violence_. They say that human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad! It's barbaric!"

"No it's not," Rose said as she helped the Doctor move a large pipe. "Christmas is nothing like that. It's about fun and families and present giving."

"Exactly," the Doctor added. "Christmas is a time of peace and thanksgiving and… Oh, who are we kidding, our Christmases are always like this," he ended up sighing.

"Hey, I had fun last Christmas. Being stuck in that spider web was more fun than you'd think. And Donna was a blast. Ooh! And I got to see the beginning of the solar system and…" suddenly she cut off, apparently caught up in thought.

"Rose?" he asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said distractedly. "Just thinking…"

It was then that he moved the next piece of metal and uncovered one of the golden angels. "We've got a Host. Strength of ten. If we can mend it, we can use it to fix the rubble.

"We can do robotics, both of us," Morvin said pointing to himself and his wife.

"We worked on the milk market back on Sto," Foon put in. "It's all robot staff."

"See if you can get it working," he told them. "Let's have a look," he said to Rose and Astrid, indicating upwards. They continued climbing the stairs, followed by everyone but the Van Hoff's who stayed down a level to fix up the robot, but they found that the top of the stairwell was blocked with many fallen pipes and other rubble.

"It's blocked," Astrid said, exasperated.

"So what do we do?" the Doctor said.

"We shift it," Rose said like it was obvious. There was no where else they could go.

"That's the attitude!" the Doctor cried happily. "Mind you, when _you_ start thinking pessimistically, the universe is truly ending. Rickston, Mr Copper, and you, Bannakaffalatta… Look, can I just call you Banna?" he sighed. "It's gonna save a lot of time.

"No! Bannakaffalatta!" the small red man insisted.

"Alright then, Bannakaffalatta," he said with a hint of annoyance, "there's a gap in the middle. See if you can get through."

"Easy, good," Bannakaffalatta said as he squeezed through. Suddenly the ship gave another lurch, sending more debris down.

"This whole thing could come crashing down any minute!" Rickston shouted.

"Oh, Rickston, I forgot, did you get our message?" the Doctor asked innocently.

"No. what message?"

"_Shut up!_" both he and Rose said at the same time. They grinned at each other while Rickston gave them a sour look.

"Bannakaffalatta made it!"

"Rose and I are pretty small, we look like we could fit through," Astrid said.

"We could clear some of this from the other side," Rose added. The Doctor opened is mouth to say something, but Astrid had already slipped through and Rose was already on her hands and knees on her way.

"Careful," he told her, placing a hand on her lower back and supporting her as she went.

"I'm fine," she laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Thing is," Rickston piped up. "How are Mr and Mrs Fatso going to get through this gap?"

"We make it bigger. So start," the Doctor growled at him.

.

"Doctor," Rose called from the other side. "We're going to start clearing away things on this side. Tell us if it starts moving."

She and Astrid got to work. It was quite exhausting when she was trying to focus her mind elsewhere and putting her energy into that, but she needed to get this side clear. Suddenly Astrid noticed Bannakaffalatta lying down, looking somewhat sick.

"Bannakaffalatta, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Shh," he hushed.

"What is it?"

"Can't say," he told her. She came over to sit beside him while Rose continued to work.

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

"Ashamed."

"Of what?"

"Poor Banakaffalatta." He pulled back his shirt and even Rose looked as he revealed that his chest and stomach were entirely metal, with lights and wires.

"You're a cyborg," Astrid gasped.

"Had accident long ago. Secret."

"No, but everything's changed now," she told him. "Cyborgs are getting equal rights. They passed a law back on Sto. You can even get married!"

"Marry you?" he asked.

Astrid laughed. "Well, you can buy me a drink first. Come on. Let's recharge you." She pressed a button on his torso. "Just stay there for a bit," she told him. Then she went to join Rose in the clearing up again.

"Tell no one," he said.

"We promise," Rose told him.

"What's going on up there?" the Doctor called up.

"I think Astrid and Bannakaffalatta just got engaged!" Rose laughed back. Still laughing, the three of them got back to moving things out the way again. The sooner they could get out of here, the better.

.

.

.

* * *

><p><em><strong>First off, yes, Rose does know about Sontarans. She hasn't met them before, but the Doctor has told her about them.<strong>_

_**Secondly, I'm trying to expand my group on DeviantART. It's a Rose / Doctor fan art group called 'Stay-Forever'. If you have a DA account, please join. Oh, and I'm making a list of the best 'must read' fan fics. So if you know any REALLY, REALLY good ones, please link me to them.**_

_**And last but not least. I have the ending of this sorted out, but it could go either way. I have two options. So, have your say in the fate of Astrid Peth. Should she die like she does in the show (minus all the kissy, sappy stuff at the end). Or should she start life anew on Earth like / with Mr Copper. Or go travelling on her own.**_

_**To have your say, vote on the polls on my DA page, My facebook page (the Krazy Ky-Sta Hatter one), or on my profile page. Links to the first two are on the profile page.**_

_**Hope you enjoyed this, please review!**_


	5. Voyage of the Damned, Engines

_**Sorry this one took so long. I keep getting distracted by other stories. Most only have 2 - 4 chapters until they're done. But I just keep thinking up new ones. Yesterday I started on one called 'The Invisible Rose'. But I'll let you read that one to find out about it. I have 16 that I'm still writing, and 3 that are finished.**_

_**But, rest assured that I shall always be churning out stories from Through the Stars. I tend to flit a lot.**_

_**Now, I know you've all been deprived of this story for a while, so enjoy!**_

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

.

**Engines**

.

.

"Almost done!" Morvin called up to the Doctor.

"Good, good, good," he said. Then he turned to the comms. "Mr Frame, how's things?"

"Doctor, I've got life signs all over the ship, but they're going out one by one," came the slightly frantic reply.

"What is it? Are they losing air?"

"No. One of them said it's the Host. It's something to do with the Host."

"It's working!" Morvin cried. Suddenly realisation and a little bit of fear hit him and he rushed down to them. He saw the Host grab Morvin by the throat and it started to chant 'kill. Kill. Kill'.

"Turn it off!" he shouted. And Foon began grabbing at the wires.

"I can't, Doctor!" she cried.

"Go," he told her as he made it over to them. She made her way up the stairs as the Doctor pulled the sonic-screwdriver on the Host's hand. "Hand's frozen. I can't stop it. Come on. Double deadlock!" Putting the sonic away, he used his hands to pry Morvin free. "Okay, go upstairs."

"Run, darling, run!" Foon screamed, grabbing her husband by the hand and leading them up. The Doctor followed, eyeing warily as the Host advanced, repeating 'Information: Kill. Kill. Kill'.

"Rickston, get them through!" he called up.

"No chance!" the man retorted before selfishly pushing his own way through the gap Astrid and Rose had been clearing.

"Rickston!" Mr Copper admonished.

"I'll never get through there!" Foon cried when she saw the opening.

"Yes you can," he told her. "Let me go clear it." He pushed his way through and cleared it a little, allowing Foon to start squeezing through.

.

Below them the Host was attacking the Doctor, barely missing his head. Its hand struck the pipe beside him and bent it. Quickly he lunged for the comm.

"It's the Host. They've gone berserk! Can you cope up there?" He didn't wait for an answer as he continued up the stairs.

.

"No, I'm stuck!" Foon cried.

"Come on, you can do it," Rose encouraged as she, Astrid and Mr Copper helped pull her out.

"I can't," she said.

"You _can,_" Rose said firmly. With a clang the large metal beam that was the main problem shifted and sunk down further. It stuck against a small pipe that was jammed against some more rubble and Mr Copper used that as leverage to push it back up even further than before. Rose and Astrid were able to pull Foon through.

"Rickston, Vot damn it, help me!" he panted.

"No way," Rickston said stubbornly. Rose might have punched him just then if she weren't rushing to help Mr Copper herself.

"Morvin, get through!" the Doctor shouted from the other side.

Soon they could see Morvin's head trying to pop through, but he was finding it difficult. He couldn't get any further forward and Mr copper and Rose were struggling to hold up the beam. Astrid pulled at him to no avail.

"Doctor, he's stuck!" she cried.

"Mr Van Hoff, I know we've only just met, but you'll have to excuse me," they heard the Doctor say. Then it seemed Morvin had some help getting through from behind too, because soon he was squished through.

"That's it. We've got you," Astrid said to him.

"Doctor, hurry up!" Rose cried, her voice coming out harsher due to the strain of keeping up the beam and her concentration.

Just as he was about to go through he turned to the Host. "Information override!" he said. "You will tell me the point of origin of your command structure!"

"Doctor!" Rose cried in distress.

At the same time Mr Copper called out, "I can't hold it!"

"Information: Deck 31," the Host answered.

"Thank you," the Doctor said quickly, and then dashed through the gap. "Let go!" he cried. Rose and Mr Copper let go of the leverage just as the Dost was coming through. The beam came tumbling down and smashed on the Host's head, reducing it to a broken pile of wires and crushed parts.

**?...DW…?**

Soon they were clambering into a room that was only slightly disturbed. At any rate, the food was still on the plates.

"Morvin, look. Food!" Foon cried when she spied it. She made her way over to the plates.

"Oh great," Rickston said sarcastically. "Someone's happy."

"Don't have any then," Morvin said almost angrily, placing a hand on the arrogant man's shoulder to stop him moving forward, before he went to join his wife.

.

The Doctor, holding Rose's hand, ran over to a comm. he had spotted. "Mr Frame, you still there?" he asked anxiously.

"Yes, Sir," came the immediate reply. "But I've got Host outside. I sealed the door."

"They've been programmed to kill. Why would anyone do that?"

"That's not the only problem, Doctor," Frame said a little sheepishly. "I had to use a maximum deadlock on the door, which means… no one can get in. I'm sealed off. Even if you can fix the Titanic, you can't get to the bridge."

"Yeah, right, fine," the Doctor said a little snippily. He was starting to get a headache. "One problem at a time. What's on Deck 31?"

"Er, that's down below," he replied, a little confused. "It's nothing. It's just the Host storage deck. That's where we keep the robots."

The Doctor looked at the images that were being brought up on the scanner. "Well, what's that?" he asked, putting his glasses on. "See that panel? Black. It's registering as nothing. No power, no heat, no light."

"Never seen it before."

"100% shielded. What's down there?"

"I'll try and intensifying the scanner," Frame told him.

"Let me know if you find anything," he ordered, taking off his glasses and stowing them in his pocket. "And keep those engines going!" He turned away from the comms to give Rose a reassuring smile, but it fell from his face when he saw the state of her. "Rose, are you alright?" he asked, pulling her into his arms.

"I'm just tired," she said against his chest. She sounded alright, and she was doing well. But he could feel just how much she was leaning on him.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"A few days ago," she mumbled.

"What?" he said incredulously. "You're telling me that you travelled through London, saved the world, looked after me when the Master died, had a whole day of - I must admit - bloody brilliant love making and now stranded here, all with no sleep?"

"Pretty much," she almost laughed.

"Right, when we get back home, you're having a full human eight hour sleep!"

"Sounds good," she smiled up at him lazily.

.

They were interrupted when Astrid bounced up to them with a plate of food. "Saved you two some," she said brightly, handing the Doctor the plate. "You may be a Time King from Gannaby, but you still need to eat. Especially you, you look dead on your feet," she said the last part to Rose.

"Thanks," Rose smiled at her. The Doctor took the plate and sat them down near by. Astrid joined them.

"So," she said to the Doctor. "You look good for 903."

"Mmm, you should see him in the morning," Rose hummed appreciatively. He had always believed he looked terrible then. But she had caught him after waking up a few times. He looked so adorable. A dazed, sleepy look still in his eyes, his hair even wilder than usual, walking around looking like he were lost to the world.

Astrid giggled a little as Mr Copper came to join them. Rose and the Doctor shared their plate of food.

"Doctor, it must be well past midnight, Earth time. Christmas Day."

"So it is! Merry Christmas," he said around a mouthful.

"Mm, Merry Christmas," Rose laughed, holding up an imaginary flute of Champaign.

"This Christmas thing," Astrid said curiously. "What's it all about?"

"Long story," the Doctor replied. "I should know, I was there. We got the last room."

"Yeah, that kid was born, and I guess the Eriantuans looked like angels. But it really depends on the culture and religion. I think it originally was about celebrating the winter solstice," Rose added. "But it's always been fun… just a little terrifying as well the past two years." She looked at the Doctor accusingly and gave him her tongue in teeth grin.

"But if the planet's waking up, can't we signal them? They can send up a rocket or something," Mr Copper said.

"They don't have spaceships," the Doctor said wearily.

"No, I read about it. They have shuffles. Space shuffles."

"Shuttles," Rose corrected. "And it would take them months to get here. They're not going to be that advanced for a few hundred years yet."

"Mr Copper, this degree in Earthonomics… where's it from?" the Doctor asked cautiously.

"Honestly?" the old man sighed.

"Just between us," he whispered nodding to the three of them.

"Mrs Golightly's Happy Travelling University and Dry Cleaners," he said, somewhat bitterly. He mopped his brow and sat heavily beside them, looking ashamed.

"You - you lied to the company… to get the job?" Astrid said.

"I wasted my life on Sto," he told them, tears in his eyes. "I was a travelling salesman, always on the road. And I reached retirement with nothing to show for it. Not even a home. And Earth sounded so exotic."

"Hmm, I suppose it is, yeah," the Doctor mused.

"How come you two know it so well?" Astrid asked them.

"I was sort of… a few years ago, was sort of made… well, sort of homeless," he stuttered. "And, um, there was the Earth." He smiled fondly at the last part and squeezed Rose's hand. There was Earth… and there was her.

"I was born there," Rose told them. "I lived a dead-end life until this crazy alien here came along and blew my job up." She saw the startled look on their faces. "To save the planet," she added.

"Thing is," Mr Copper said dejectedly. "If we survive these, there will be police and all sots of investigations. Now the minimum penalty for space-age fraud is ten years in jail. I'm an old man. Well… I won't survive ten years…"

Suddenly there was a loud bang against the barricaded door. The Doctor hastily put down the plate of food they'd been sharing and pulled Rose to her feet. "The Host! Move! Come on!" he called to everyone.

They all ran for the opposite door. The Doctor sonic-ed open a door and they all ran out, only to stop before they fell over the edge of a large chasm. Fire shot out and burned from spots all around them. It was quite sweltering. And below them was what looked like a huge ball of fire, or even a small sun. The only visible way to the other side was a long makeshift bridge of rickety fallen metal.

"Is that the only way across?" Rickston said scornfully in disbelief.

"On the other hand, it_ is_ a way across," the Doctor pointed out. They really didn't have time to be picky with the Host on their tail.

"The engines are open," Astrid said fearfully.

"Nuclear storm drive. Soon as it stops, the Titanic falls."

"But that thing, it'll never take our weight!" Morvin protested, pointing to the bridge.

"You're going last, mate," Rickston said snidely. Rose was about ready to knock that man unconscious. But as horrible as he was, she didn't want him dead, and it would be a hassle dragging him along with Host attacking them. So all she did was glare at him.

"It's nitrophine metal, it's stronger than it looks," the Doctor snapped, trying to shut the idiotic man up.

"All the same," Morvin said loudly to be heard over the engines. "Rickston's right. Me and Foon should-" Suddenly the piece of metal he had just stood on gave way, the rail snapped off and he fell screaming into the engines below.

"Morvin!" Foon shrieked running to the edge. Everyone followed, careful to make sure the metal didn't keep collapsing. The Doctor placed a hand on Foon's shoulder, holding her steady as they leaned over to see. Morvin was no where in sight.

They all just sat there in shock. Foon had tears streaming down her cheeks and Rose put an arm around her. Her other hand was covering her mouth. Astrid was covering her mouth in shock too.

"I told you! I told you!" Rickston suddenly cried from behind them. Rose went to snap at him, but Mr Copper beat her to it.

"Just shut up!" he old man shouted in anger. "Shut up!"

"Bring him back!" Foon said hysterically to the Doctor, whose arm was still around her back, just under Rose's. "Can't you bring him back? Bring him back, Doctor!"

"I'm sorry, I can't," he said sorrowfully.

"You promised me!"

"I know," his voice was heavy with guilt. He pulled her tighter to him and rubbed her back a little. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." They were interrupted by the sound of feet on the other side of the door. Many heavy metal feet.

"Doctor, I rather think those things have got out scent," Mr Copper jerked his thumb at the door.

"I'm not waiting," Rickston growled. He ran onto the bridge without another word.

"Careful!" the Doctor cried, running over to the edge of the bridge. "Take it slowly!" Rose took over, hugging Foon and Astrid moved closer to held comfort the woman who had just become a widow.

There was another explosion near by and Rickston was thrown down, nearly falling off the bridge, but he caught himself on his chest. "Vot help me!" he whimpered.

"You're okay," the Doctor said, taking his tie off. "One step at a time. Come on, you can do it."

As Rickston struggled to get back up, they heard the echoing chant of 'Kill. Kill. Kill,' down the hall.

"They're getting nearer!" Mr Copper warned.

"I'll seal us in," the Doctor muttered, using the sonic-screwdriver on the door.'

"Leaving us trapped, wouldn't you say?"

"Never say 'trapped'," the Doctor told him. "Just - inconveniently circumstanced."

"Oh!" Mr Copper scoffed. The Doctor then busted the lock, leaving them, as Mr Copper had said, trapped.

"I'm okay," Rickston called back to them, starting to slowly stand up. But everyone ignored him.

.

"Maybe he's alright," Foon tried to convince herself. "Maybe… maybe there's a gravity curve down there or something. I don't know. Maybe he's unconscious.

"I'm so sorry, Foon," Rose told her, a tear leaking down her cheek. "He's not. He's gone. I'm so, so sorry." She pulled the distraught woman to her and Foon held on tightly.

"I can't live without him!" she sobbed. Rose didn't say anything. She couldn't imagine life without the Doctor either. She had chosen him over her own family… and she would do it a million more times. The thought of never being with him was incomprehensible to her.

"Yes!" the cry distracted them all. They looked up to see Rickston on the other side doing a victory dance and a fist-pump. "Oh yes! Who's good?"

"Bannakaffalatta, you go next," the Doctor ordered.

"Bannakaffalatta, small," he said happily, waddling over the bridge as fast as he could.

"Slowly!" the Doctor cried out and the small red alien complied. Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door and it began to dent.

"They've found us!" Mr Copper cried.

"Astrid, Rose, get across right now," he said urgently. Astrid nodded and started across. Rose just looked at him, Foon still wrapped in her arms.

"What about Foon?" she asked. "I'm not leaving without her."

The Doctor gave a small growl of frustration before turning to Mr Copper. "Mr Copper, we can't wait. Don't argue." He ran across to Rose and Foon. "Rose go," he said, giving her a pointed look and a mental nudge. Sighing, Rose followed the others and he turned and grabbed Foon by the shoulders. "Foon, you've got to get across right now."

"What for?" she sobbed. "What am I going to do without him?" The pain in her eyes almost made him shudder.

"Doctor!" Rickston called over. "The door's locked." But the Doctor ignored him, too intent on getting Foon to safety too.

"Just think… what would he want, eh?" he said softly.

"He don't want nothing. He's dead!" A harsh sob escaped her lips

"Doctor, I can't open the door," Rickston tried again. "We need the whirring key thing of yours."

"I can't leave her!" he shouted across as he held onto the weeping woman.

"She'll get us all killed if we can't get out!"

Groaning, he looked over at the others who were all slowly making their way across the bridge. Rickston may be an asshole, but he had a point. If he couldn't get that door open, they were all in danger. Holding onto her shoulders again, he stooped down to Foon's eye level. "Mrs Van Hoff, I am coming back for you, alright?" he said in a soft but firm voice.

Foon gave a small nod and he ran to join everyone else on the bridge. He was only a few steps in when the entire structure began creaking and groaning.

"Too many people!" Bannakaffalatta warned him.

"Oi! Don't get spiky with me! Keep going!" They all slowly made their way across. Soon they were all spread out along it. Bannakaffalatta nearly at the end. Suddenly another explosion and a huge shake threw them all to the ground.

"It's going to fall!" Astrid screamed fearfully.

"I'll be okay," Rose panted.

"It's just settling! Keep going!" Suddenly the only thing to be heard was the slight creaking of the bridge and the hiss of the engines below. There was no longer a harsh banging and smashing on the door.

"They've stopped," Astrid gasped.

"Gone away?" Bannakaffalatta asked.

"Why would they give up?" the Doctor asked in a low voice, looking at the door.

"Never mind that. Keep coming!" Rickston called to him.

But the Doctor ignored him. "Where have they gone? Where are the Host?"

"Well," Mr Copper croaked. "I'm afraid we forgot the tradition if Christmas… that angels have wings!" He pointed upwards and everyone looked to see five Host gliding down to surround them.

"Information: Kill," one of them said. They all began to reach for their halos.

"Arm yourselves! All of you!" the Doctor cried as he picked up a pipe near by. Rose and the other's followed suit.

"Ugh! That's it!" She shouted. "I am never trusting human sized Christmas decorations again!" She took a swing as a halo shot towards her. She deflected it, but she knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up very long.

But they kept swinging, Rose getting wearier by the second. A halo grazed the Doctor's arm and one caught Mr Coppers hip. Astrid was struck to the ground.

"I can't…" Astrid sobbed.

"Bannakaffalatta stop!" the small red man cried, throwing down his pipe and surprising them all. "Bannakaffalatta proud! Bannakaffalatta cyborg!" And with that he ripped open his shirt and sent a big wave of blue energy out. The Host began sparking and shaking, then they fell into the engines below. One landed with a huge thump right behind the Doctor.

"Electromagnetic pulse took out the robotics. Oh, Bannakaffalatta, that was brilliant!" the Doctor cried. But then, with a beep, the small alien fell. With a gasp, Astrid crawled to his side.

"He's used all his power!" she said.

"Did good?" he asked her.

"You saved out lives."

"Bannakaffalatta happy."

"We can recharge you," Astrid said desperately. "Get you to a power point and just plug you in!"

"Too late," he told her.

"No, but… you gotta get me that drink, remember?"

Bannakaffalatta smiled. "Pretty girl." But then he said no more and his eyes closed.

Tears in her eyes, Astrid began to pull his shirt back over his chest, but Mr Copper stopped her, reaching for his power source. "I'm sorry. Forgive me," he said.

"Leave him alone!" she gasped.

"It's the EMP transmitter. He - he'd want us to have it." He took the metal cylinder from Bannakaffalatta's chest. "I used to sell these things. They'd always give me a bed for the night in the cyborg caravans. They're good people. But if we can recharge it, we can reuse it as a weapon against the rest of the Host. Bannakaffalatta saved us all."

"Do you think?" Rickston scoffed. "Try telling him that!" He pointed behind them all.

"Doctor!" Rose cried in alarm. Everyone else turned to look to see the Host moving. It picked up its halo and tried to get up.

"Information: Reboot."

"Use the EMP!" Rickston shouted.

"It's dead!

"It's gotta have emergency-"

"No, no ,no. Hold on!" the Doctor cried, cutting out all the babble as he confronted the Host. "Override. Loophole security protocol… ten! Six, six, six! Oh. Twenty one. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Um, I don't know, forty two! Uh, one!" The Host, who had been advancing, ready to strike, stopped and stood there passively.

"Information: State request."

"Good… right. You've been ordered to kill the survivors, but why?"

"Information: No witnesses."

"But this ship's going to fall on the Earth and kill everyone. The human race have nothing to do with the Titanic, so that contravenes your orders, yes?"

"Information: Incorrect."

"But why do you want to destroy the Earth?" the Doctor asked, slightly bewildered.

"Information: it is the plan."

"What plan?"

"Information: Protocol grants you only three questions. These three questions have been used."

"Well, you could have warned me," he grumbled.

"Information: Now you will die."

It lifted its halo once again and the Doctor picked up some pipe, ready to defend himself. But suddenly a rope was thrown over the Host's head and looped around its body, stopping its movements.

"You're coming with me," Foon snarled as she tightened the rope. Then she closed her eyes and jumped over the side, taking the Host with her.

"No!" the Doctor shouted, falling to his knees and reaching out for her.

"Foon!" Rose shrieked, taking a step towards them, but too late. They all watched helplessly as Foon fell to her death.

For a moment everything was quiet and still. Then the Doctor rose to his feet with a determined scowl on his face. "No more!" he growled.

Far, far too many had lost their lives today. And after everything that had happened, he couldn't stand one more death. This was going to stop. Now!


	6. Voyage of the Damned, Information

**Information**

.

.

The Doctor kicked in the debris blocking their way as they made it into another set of maintenance halls. Rose could feel the rage and sorrow that was brining in him. His determination to stop all this.

"Right," he said in his business tone. "Get up to Reception One. Once you're there, Mr Copper, you've got staff access to the computer. Try and find a way of transmitting and SOS. Astrid, you're in charge of this." He handed her the EMP. "Once it's powered up, it'll take out Hosts within fifty yards, but then it needs sixty seconds to recharge. Got it? Rose, you take this-" He put the sonic-screwdriver in her hands.

"I'm coming with you," she told him, her voice as strong as she could muster - which, given her current state, wasn't much. The Doctor turned to her and placed his hands gently on her shoulders, imploring her to understand.

"Rose, I need you here. They need you. I'll be back as soon as I can. Promise… Besides, you really think I'd trust Rickston with my sonic-screwdriver?" This managed to get a small smile out of her and an indignant cry for the man in question. "Please?"

"Okay," she whispered, nodding just in case he didn't hear.

"That's my girl. Now, go and open the next door, quickly." Rose gave another nod and hurried to the door as the Doctor grabbed a first aid kit and handed it to Mr Copper. "Mr Copper, I need you fighting fit. Astrid, where's that power point?"

"Under the comms." Together they ran to the power point and the Doctor showed her how to recharge it.

"It'll beep when it's ready, and that blue light comes on there," he told her.

"You're not coming with us?" she said, slightly confused after listening to his had Rose's conversation.

There's something down on Deck 31. I'm gonna find out what it is."

"And you won't let Rose go with you? Here I was thinking you and her were joined at the hip."

"It's too dangerous. It's a bad enough journey for one person, and she's dead tired. I just got her back, I won't lose her again."

Astrid nodded in understanding, before a shadow fell over her face again. "What if you meet a Host?" she asked.

"Well, then I'll just… have some fun," he shrugged.

"Sounds like you two do this kind of thing all the time."

"Not by choice!" he said indignantly.

"He's a danger magnet," Rose's voice called out to them. "And I'd be having a go about you leaving me behind again if that weren't a little bit sweet."

"And a little bit true," the Doctor replied. "You're tired. You'll do more good here. Don't want a repeat of what happened with the weeping angels."

"I know," she said, a little dejected. "It's okay, I get it. I can see inside your head, remember."

"How could I forget," he chuckled. "But… I can't see yours… Rose, why are you blocking me off?"

"I'm tired," she said quickly. "Thoughts are leaking through. Don't want to distract you."

"Rose, what are you doing?" he asked in concern, walking over to her and holding her by the shoulders.

"Nothing," she lied. "Look, you do what you can. And I'll do what I can, okay? I'll be fine. Trust me."

Suddenly they were thrown off their feet as the ship lurched violently. The Doctor stood and quickly and ran back to the comms. "Mr Frame, you still with us?" he asked urgently.

"It's the engines, Sir!" he shouted back. "Final phase. There's nothing more I can do. We've got only eight minutes left!"

"Don't worry, I'll get there."

"But the bridge is sealed off!" he cried, his voice squeaking and cracking at the end.

"Yeah, yeah, working on it," the Doctor replied. "I'll get there, Mr Frame, somehow." He disconnected and there was a beep below him. "You're charged up," he told Astrid. They all grouped together. "Mr Copper, look after her and her. Astrid, look after him and her. Rickston, um… look after yourself."

"And who am I looking after?" Rose asked.

"No one. You've already got enough to worry about." She frowned at him, but he ignored it. "I'll see you all again, promise."

He started to run off, but Rose called him back. "Doctor!"

"Mmm?" he said, stopping for a second. It was long enough for Rose to reach over to him and drag him down for another searing kiss. It really was something she could get used to, and it was actually starting to get uncomfortable not touching him. "Right… Thanks," he said a little flustered. "I'll be back."

"You better be," she told him.

"Oh, I will," he said like a promise. He gave her one last grin before he ran off.

**?...DW…?**

The Doctor ran across the makeshift bridge and down as mean levels as he could make. Eventually he found himself in one of the kitchens. He went to turn when he ran right into a few of the Host, only to see more behind him. He was trapped.

He reached over and grabbed up a frying pan, ready to use it as a weapon. He almost smiled thinking that Rapunzel from Disney's 'Tangled' had the right idea, but he was too busy looking at the death machines in front of him. They reached for their halos.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" he called. "Security protocol one! Do you hear me? One! One!" The Host stopped advancing. "Okay, that gives me three questions. Three questions to save my life, am I right?" he said aloud.

"Information: Correct," a Host answered.

"No! That wasn't one of them. I didn't mean it. That's not fair. Can I start again?" the question slipped form his mouth before he could stop it.

"Information: No."

"No, no! No, no, no. That wasn't one either. Blimey," he sighed and scrubbed at his face with his hand. "One question left. One question. So, you've been given orders to kill the survivors, but survivors must therefore be passengers or staff. But not me, I'm not a passenger, I'm not staff. Go on, scan me." They did so as he continued to talk. "You must have bio records. No such person on board. I don't exist, therefore… you can't kill me. Therefore, I'm a stowaway, and stowaways should be arrested and taken to the nearest figure of authority. And I reckon the nearest figure of authority is on Deck 31. Final question: Am I right?"

"Information: Correct."

"Brilliant. Take me to your leader." He grinned cheekily. "I've always wanted to say that."

**?...DW…?**

The second that Rose opened the door, she came face to face with a host. Rickston was right behind her and he ducked down, dragging her with him.

"Do it!" he shouted at Astrid. Rose was still too shocked about the fact he had pulled her down. Although, it was more likely she was just in his way of getting _out _of the way. Astrid took a step forward, held the EMP out in front of her and set it off. After just a moment, the Hosts collapsed. They stood a moment in shock before they all began cheering and laughing in relief.

They carried on much in this way as they got to their destination. They only ran into one other Host before they made it to the Reception room to find another four or so. But they were out with just a zap of the EMP.

Rose set to work around the room, making sure it was secure. But it was slow moving. But now her energy was so low that moving was becoming an issue. "Rickston, Mr Copper, keep an eye on the Host," she ordered and Astrid handed the EMP over to Mr Copper. "Astrid, check the computer. We need to try that SOS."

Astrid did as she was told, and looked over at Rose. The Doctor had been right, the woman was bone tired. But there was something different about her now that she had not seen in her so far. She was frantic. She could tell that Rose was very skilled at hiding her worry form others, but she couldn't hide the worry over her husband… mate… whatever he was (they had never really said).

She banged the computer, trying to get it to work. But it did nothing. Looking around she saw the teleport bracelets and an idea came to her.

"Bridge, this is Reception One," she said into the comm.

"Who's that?" a man asked.

"Astrid Peth," she replied. "I was with the Doctor. Tell me, can you divert power to the teleport system?"

"No way. I'm using everything I've got to keep the engines going," he said in a worrying tone.

"It's just one trip. I need to get to Deck 31."

"And I'm telling you 'no'," he said firmly.

"Mr Frame… this is for the Doctor. He's gone down there on his own. And we… we can't just leave him. Rose is going frantic. And they've done everything they can to save us. It's time we did something to help them."

Frame sighed heavily, and she could just about see him shaking his head. "Giving you power," he told her in a tone that suggested he thought he were mad for doing so.

Turning to the teleport bracelets, she grabbed two and ran over to Rose. She clicked one shut around the slightly startled woman's skinny wrist before doing her own. "Come on," she said, taking Rose's hand. "We're going to find him."

Rose gave her a weak smile, but it showed her gratitude more than anything. "Thank you," she whispered.

Mr Copper noticed the exchange between Astrid and Mr Frame, then Rose. He turned to them and gave them a tight smile. "Good luck," he told them. And then they disappeared.

**?...DW…?**

The Doctor was escorted to Deck 31. Looking around, he saw that it was in just as much disarray as the rest of the ship.

"Wow… That is what you call a fixer-upper," he laughed to himself. "Come on, then. Host with the most, this ultimately authority of yours, who is it?" he spun around as he heard doors opening and saw something he recognised right away. "Oh, that's clever. That's an Omnistate impact chamber. Indestructible. You can survive anything in that, eh?" A vehicle of some kind began rolling through the steam and smoke. "Sit through a supernova or a shipwreck. Only one person can have the power and the money to hide themselves onboard like this. And I should know, 'cause…" he said teasingly, waiting for the man… thing to finish it.

"My name is Max," the creepy head in a box grinned. The gold tooth flashed and for a moment the Doctor was taken aback.

"It really does that?" he said, a little bewildered. It was bad enough on an ad… but in real life?

He looked at Max Capricorn and rose and eyebrow. He was no longer the man he had been in the ad. He was now mostly a head on wheels. Instead of a body, he had a big hulking chunk of machinery and one of his eyes was obviously blind.

"Who the hell is this?" Max snapped.

"I'm the Doctor. Hello," he said enthusiastically.

"Information: Stowaway."

"Well…"

"Kill him!" Max shouted.

"No, no, no! Wait, but you can't. Not now. Come on, Max. You've given me so much good material like… How to get 'ahead' in business," he said comically. "See, Head. Head. Head in the… No?"

"Oh, ho, ho, the office joker," Max said preciously. "I like a funny man. No one's been funny with me for years."

"I can't think why," the Doctor eyed the machine.

"176 years of running the company have taken their toll."

"Yeah, but… nice wheels." He scratched the back of his neck.

"No! A life -support system," Max told him "In a society that despises cyborgs, I've had to hide away for years. Running the company by hologram. Host, situation report."

"Information: Titanic is still in orbit," one of them said.

"Let me see," he said suspiciously. The Doctor moved out of his way as he moved forward towards a banister that dropped down to the engines. The Doctor walked forward with him. "We should have crashed by now. What's gone wrong?" He peered over the edge. "The engines are still running! They should have stopped!"

"When they do, the Earth gets roasted. I don't understand. What's the Earth got to do with it?" he asked.

"This interview is terminated," Max snapped.

Unseen by everyone, Astrid, who was supporting Rose, appeared behind them and quickly hid the two of them behind a wall. Together they listened in concern.

"No, no, no, no, no, no! Hold on, hold on, hold on! Wait, wait, wait! Wait! Wait!" the Doctor cried, running around in front of Max's retreating vehicle to stop him. "I can work it out. It's like a task. I'm your apprentice. Just watch me. So… Business is failing and you wreck the ship, so that makes things even worse. Oh yes! No… Yes! The business isn't fail_ing,_ it's fail_ed_. Past tense."

"My own Board voted me out. Stabbed me in the back," Max said bitterly.

"If you had a back," the Doctor couldn't help himself. Only Astrid heard Rose's exasperated groan. Carefully she helped Rose up again and they snuck closer, so they could see better. "So, you scupper the ship, wipe out any survivors, just in case anyone's rumbled you, and the Board find their shares halved in value. Oh, but that's not enough. No. Because if a Max Capricorn ship hits the Earth, it destroys an entire planet. Outrage back home. Scandal! The business is wiped out."

"And… the whole Board thrown in jail for mass murder," Max said hysterically.

"While you sit there, safe inside the impact chamber," he said in disgust as he pointed back over at the chamber.

"I have men waiting to retrieve me from the ruins and enough off-world accounts to retire me to the beaches of Penhaxico II. Where the ladies, so I'm told, are very fond of… metal." The tone he used nearly made Rose vomit in her mouth… actually, she felt like doing that anyway. Oh, this was not good.

"So, that's the plan?" the Doctor growled. "A retirement plan. 2000 on this ship, six billion underneath us, all of them slaughtered! And why? Because max Capricorn is a _loser!_"

"I never lose," Max hissed, rolling closer.

"You can't even sink the Titanic!" the Doctor scoffed.

"Oh, but I can, Doctor! I can cancel the engines from here!" Around them, alarms began to go off.

"You can't do this!" the Doctor shouted.

"Host, hold him," Max ordered. Two of the Host came up behind him, grabbed him by the arms and hauled him back.

"Not so clever now, Doctor," Max sneered.

"Oh, do you think? Like I said, 'watch me'." Then he turned to the Host across the room. "You there, Host. Security Protocol One. Three questions. You work for Max Capricorn, yes?"

"Information: Correct."

"And Max Capricorn is a cyborg, yes?"

"Information: Correct."

"But according to your society, cyborgs are inferior. So you should accept my commands instead of his, yes? Yes?" It took a while to reply. "What do you say? Yes?"

"Information: No."

"What? Why's that then?" he said in confusion.

"Information: Your three questions have been used."

"But I can supply the answer," Max said. "They're robots, Doctor. To them, cyborgs are practically family."

"Information: Damn," the Doctor sighed. They didn't notice Rose struggling and miserably failing to keep Astrid from moving away from her to a forklift.

"Nice try though. It's a shame we couldn't work together. You're rather good. All that banter, yet not a word wasted. Time for me to retire. The Titanic is falling, the sky will burn! Let the Christmas inferno commence. Oh! Oh, Host! Kill him."

The Host across the other side of the room lifted off its halo as the Doctor struggled to escape.

"Mr Capricorn!" Astrid's cry distracted them all. They all turned to see her sitting up in the forklift, raring to go. "I resign!" And then she charged forward towards Max.

"No!" Rose cried running after her on foot. It took a lot of effort, but she was desperate.

"Astrid, don't!" the Doctor shouted to her.

But Astrid crashed into the front of Max's life-support system just hard enough that as he tried to go back, he found his tires had no purchase. At that moment, the Host who had been trying to kill the Doctor threw its halo at Astrid. She cried out in alarm as it hit the side of the forklift, narrowly missing her.

"He's cut the break line!" the Doctor shouted in panic. Astrid looked at the Doctor who was shaking his head frantically. Then she looked behind at Rose who was digging around in her pocket. Seeing the flash of blue, she set the forklift to lift Max Capricorn entirely off the ground. And she drove forward towards the edge. Towards the engines.

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><p><em><strong>Ooh, I AM evil! This has got to be the worst cliff-hanger I've ever done! Will Astrid live, will Astrid die? And what's happening to Rose.<strong>_

_**Well, I guess you'll just have to read the next chapter to find out.**_

_**I wrote most of this chapter with a really EVIL migraine. But I think it turned out alright. Anyhoo, one chapter left for 'Voyage of the Damned'.**_

_**I hope you enjoyed this. Please review!**_


	7. Voyage of the Damned, Crashing

**Crashing**

"Astrid!" the Doctor cried, sprinting over to the edge. The girl clung onto the edge for dear life. She had jumped out at the last second, with Rose using the sonic to keep the forklift running, and she was now dangling with her lower body over the edge.

Carefully, the Doctor pulled her up and back to safety. Astrid clung to him like a limpet, looking down in fear that the pit of death she had nearly fallen into.

"It's okay, I've got you," he told her. "That was very, very stupid, and so, so brilliant, Astrid Peth," he said warmly.

"I'd be a goner if it weren't for Rose," she smiled up at him. The Doctor gave a proud grin before turning to the woman in question. His smile dropped.

"Rose!" he cried, running over to catch her just as she fell towards the ground. "Rose, Rose look at me. Rose!" Rose just groaned in response, barely conscious. But a faint smile spread weakly across her face as a noise was heard. "Rose, you didn't…" he said half in horror, half in awe.

The next thing they knew, the TARDIS was materialising before them. The Doctor was, for once, speechless. Astrid stood with her mouth hanging open at the sight.

"That's your spaceship!" she cried in surprise.

"Yes it is!" he grinned. He scooped Rose up in his arms and walked her over to the TARDIS. He had to prop her down slightly so that he could open the door, but then he was picking her up again and walking in. "You coming?" he called back to Astrid.

Astrid stood in stunned silence for a moment before following after. She gasped as she saw what it was like onboard. But she didn't get to do the 'it's bigger on the inside' fiasco, as the TARDIS was dematerialising the second the door closed.

The Doctor opened the door to reveal a rather shocked young man with a wound on his side. The poor boy was staring at him with his mouth open.

"Ah, Midshipman Frame, at last!" he cried in delight and jumped out towards the controls. Not wanting to be left behind, and knowing that Rose wouldn't either, Astrid supported the semi-conscious girl and dragged her out after the Doctor.

"What- But, how'd you-?" Frame stuttered.

"It's my spaceship!" the Doctor grinned. "And, we don't have to worry about the Host anymore. Controller's dead. They divert to the next highest authority, and that's me."

"There's nothing we can do," Frame said, his voice close to a sob. "There's no power. The ship's gonna fall."

"Not if I can help it," he said before heading to the wheel, as the ship warned that they were falling. "What's your first name?"

"Alonzo," the man croaked. Suddenly the Doctor froze and looked at him in pleasant surprise. There was a very faint laugh from Rose behind them.

"You're kidding me!" the Doctor gasped.

"What?" Alonzo said in puzzlement.

"That's something else I've always wanted to say. Allons-y Alonzo!" he cried. Then he threw the wheel of the ship as they fell, steering it as best he could. "Astrid! Make sure you and Rose are secure. Get back in the TARDIS." Astrid nodded before dragging back Rose, who was struggling to protest through the growing fog that was trying to drown her into unconsciousness.

Satisfied that Rose was reasonably safe, the Doctor continued to fight against the wheel as they went into a nosedive towards the Earth. Beside him Alonzo cried out. To the other side an alarm went off. He used his foot to press the button and check the impact zone.

He sighed when he saw where it was. Seeing a phone, he reached over and dialled. "Hello, yes, um… could you get me Buckingham Palace?" They put him through and he didn't even give them time to speak. "Listen to me! Security Code 771! Now get out of there!"

Just in the nick of time, his plan worked and the screen showed 'Engine Ignition'. He pulled up hard on the wheel, straining with all his might. Ever so slowly, they began to right themselves as they kept plummeting to Earth. They pulled out of it, only _just_ missing the top of Buckingham Palace.

As they drove upwards, back into outer space, the Doctor laughed. Alonzo joined in too and rung the bell. The door to the TARDIS opened and Astrid giggled in relief at the sight before her.

Once they were at a safe level, he tiredly came and dropped down next to Alonzo. "Used the heat of re-entry to fire up the secondary storm drive. Unsinkable, that's me."

"We made it," Alonzo laughed incredulously.

"Not all of us," the Doctor said quietly. He looked over at Astrid, who was still sitting in the doorway of the TARDIS, and suddenly became keenly aware that Rose had not joined her.

"Rose!" he cried, jumping up. Alonzo and Astrid followed him over to the woman who was now unconscious. "Rose… Rose?" he called to her, gently holding her head. She stirred. He gave her mind a little nudge and her eyes fluttered open. "Hey."

"Hello," she whispered, her eyes starting to close again.

"No, stay with me," he encouraged.

"But I'm tired," she complained, as if all he had done was wake her up too early on a Sunday morning.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" he asked anyway. "What were you thinking?"

"Particles pulling particles," she mumbled.

"Oh… _oh!_ Oh, Rose, that's brilliant!" he cried. "Why did you hide that from me?"

"You would have stopped me. We needed to get her back. I'm fine. Just let me sleep a moment."

"Okay," he smiled. Tenderly, he stroked her cheek before picking her up and placing her on the jump seat. Then he concentrated on making the trip down to Reception One as smooth as possible.

"The engines have stabilized," Alonzo said walking towards them. "We're holding steady till we get help and I've sent the SOS. A rescue ship should be here within twenty minutes. And they're digging out the records of Max Capricorn. It should be quite a story."

"You know, this ship can take you anywhere in a few seconds," Rose said, nodding back at the ship she was leaning on. "We can take you all back to Sto in a blink."

"Thanks, but, I've already sent the SOS and they need to clear this pile of space junk away from your orbit. They'll need someone to talk to." The Doctor nodded in understanding. His arm was firmly around Rose, supporting her since she was still a little tired.

"They'll want to talk to all of us, I suppose," Mr Copper said dejectedly.

"I'd have thought so, yeah," Alonzo said, ignorant to the meaning behind his words. Mr Copper came over and stood leaning against a near by rail beside the Doctor.

"I think, uh, one or two inconvenient truths might come to light. Still, it's my own fault. And ten years in jail is better than dying." Astrid turned and gave the old man a hug.

At that moment, Rickston chose to come over. His eyes were red rimmed and he looked as if he had really been through a lot. Rose even felt a small surge of sympathy for the man. "Doctor," he sobbed. "I never said… thank you." And he surprised them all by pulling the Doctor into a hug. "Funny thing is, I said Max Capricorn was falling apart. Just before the crash, I… sold all my shares, transferred them to his rivals. It's made me rich. What do you thing of that?"

"Um…" Rose paused a moment, just looking at the horrible man. All of that sympathy now completely gone. "I think this…" Suddenly her fist swung round and landed squarely on Rickston's jaw, sending him stumbling back.

The Doctor only just managed to hold back a small snort as Rickston held his bruising face. "Huh… you're lucky she's tired," he said in amusement. Rickston just glared at them before turning and walking away, pulling out his Vone as he went.

The four of them all gave a small smile that was bordering laughter. But then Mr Copper made them sober. "Of all the people to survive, he's not the one you would have chosen, is he?" the old man asked. "But if you could choose, Doctor, if you decide who lives and who dies… that would make you a monster," he shrugged.

The Doctor looked at the old man, curious at the insight. "Mr Copper, I think you deserve a little trip on our ship." Rose reached around the corner and pushed the door open further. Mr Copper grinned and walked inside. Astrid stepped up hesitantly.

"Could- could I please go with you? Or, well, him? I have nothing left on Sto. No family, no home, no job. It's just me. I just want the chance to turn my life around." She looked at them hopefully. Rose, really feeling for the girl, spoke before the Doctor could even consider.

"Of course you can. Come on, in." The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her as Astrid did so. "What?"

"Oh, just you," he smiled at her. She smiled back and he led her inside. Before they took off, they gave one last look out the door and gave a wave to Alonzo Frame.

"So, Great Britain is part of, uh, 'Europee' and across the British Channel you've got Great France and Great Germany," Mr Copper tried to get it straight as they stepped out of the TARDIS.

"No, no, it's just- it's just France and Germany," the Doctor corrected.

"Only Britain is great," Rose said smugly.

"Oh, and they're all at war with the continent of Ham-erica?"

"No, well… not yet, uh… could argue that one…"

"Oh, look, it's snowing!" Astrid said happily.

"You know, between you and me, I don't even think this snow is real," Mr Copper told them. "I think this is the ballast from the Titanic's salvage entering the atmosphere."

The Doctor smiled and looked up. "Yeah. One of these days it might snow for real."

"You'll have to take me to an ice planet for that," Rose laughed.

"So, I - I suppose you'll be off." The Doctor nodded. "And, uh, what about us? What are we supposed to do?"

"Give me that credit card."

Mr Copper handed it over. "Well, it's just petty cash, spending money. It's all done by computer. I - I didn't really know the currency, so I thought three million might cover it." Rose's eyes nearly popped out of her head at that. Even the Doctor looked shocked.

"Three million? Pounds?" he said in disbelief.

"That enough for trinkets? He said worryingly.

"Mr Copper, three million pounds is worth 150 million credits!"

"What?" Astrid cried.

"How much?" Mr Copper asked, sure he had heard it wrong.

"150 million and 168."

"I - I've got money?" He looked over at Astrid. "We've got money?"

"Yes, you have," the Doctor grinned and handed the card back.

"Oh my word. Oh my Vot! Oh my goodness me! I… Ya-ah!" He and Astrid gave each other a big hug.

"It's all yours," the Doctor told them. "Planet Earth. Now that's a retirement plan. But just be careful, though. No interfering. I don't want any trouble. Mr Copper, you look after her. Astrid, you look after him. And have a brilliant life."

"Of course," Astrid grinned, tears of joy running down her cheeks.

"I will. I will. Oh, I will!" Mr Copper cried in delight. "But, I can have a house, a proper house. With a garden, and - and a door, and… Oh, Doctor, Rose, I will make you proud!"

"Me too," Astrid put in, giggling at Mr Coppers enthusiasm. "Thank you. For everything."

"No, thank you," Rose told her. "Good luck." Astrid nodded her reply and both girls began to giggle again as Mr Copper continued his excited rant as he went off.

"And - and I can have a kitchen with chairs, and windows, and lace…" Astrid caught up to him and looped her arm through his. They two off them skipped off, laughing as they went to their new life.

"Hang on, where are you going?" the Doctor called to them.

"No idea!" Mr Copper called back gleefully.

"No, us neither," the Doctor grinned. Rose smiled and hugged him. But when she looked up, Mr Copper and Astrid were gone and they Doctor had a bit of a frown on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

The Doctor sighed. "Some - sometimes I just wish that I could give you all of those things. But I'm not that kind of man. I can't give you all that windows, and doors, and kitchens, and gardens, and chairs, and lace, and things like that." He was surprised when Rose began to laugh.

"Doctor," she giggled. "What are these?" She pointed at the small glass panels above their heads.

"Windows," he answered.

"What's this?" She pointed to the wood at their back.

"A door."

"What is in the room fifth right, second left, next right and straight?"

"The 'Garden' Room," he said, beginning to smile as he realised what she was getting at. "Well, depends on your definition. "You'd probably call it more of a forest; I'd call it an Oxygen Factory… Not that the TARDIS needs one, but she likes having it."

Rose smiled and shook her head as he babbled. "What do we sit on to eat out breakfast almost every morning, and where do we do it?" she went on.

"On chairs in the kitchen." The two just smiled at each other for a moment. "What about the lace?" he asked cheekily, with a raised eyebrow.

"Wardrobe," she answered simply. "I only like to _wear_ lace anyway." Suddenly she seemed to remember something and dug around in her pocket. "Oh, here," she handed him his sonic-screwdriver. "You know, I really need my own one of these," she said.

"I'll see what I can do," he chuckled. Then he leant down and gave her a small kiss on the lips. "Merry Christmas, Rose."

"Hmm, Merry Christmas… Although, next year I might have to tie you up inside the TARDIS and not let you out. The world could do without another Christmas disaster." The two of them laughed as they went back inside. And it wasn't long until the both of them were fast asleep.

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><p><em><strong>The End… For now. Anyway, now I can start on 'Partners in Crime' and bring Donna back! YAY! I know that the Doctor seems just a little uncharacteristic in being this randy, but I'll explain that later.<strong>_

_**I think I might take a VERY small break on 'Through the Stars' and get the next few chapters of 'History Repeats' done. Don't panic, it won't be long.**_

_**The 'Keep Astrid' won the polls as you can guess. I actually had this idea rattling around in my brain since I was writing Human Nature. I let her stay with Mr Copper since those two are actually quite cute.**_

_**Anyway, I hope you liked it. Please review!**_


	8. Partners in Crime, Adipose Industries

_**And cue Donna! …Well, sort of. As you know, I only really write from Rose and the Doctor's point of views, so you just get small omniscient mentions of our favourite redhead.**_

_**Anyway, read on!**_

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><p>.<p>

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***Partners in Crime***

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**Adipose Industries**

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"It wasn't that funny," the Doctor said sulkily as he put another chip in his mouth. Rose just cracked up laughing again.

"Are you kidding? The look on your face when she-"

"Oh. My. _God!_" Rose was cut off. The Doctor watched in amusement as her eyes widened. "Rose bloody Tyler!

"Shareen!" Rose cried in surprise, jumping up and giving her old friend a hug.

"Oh my god. Long time no see! Where the hell have you been?"

"Oh… you know… all across the universe," she grinned. She sat down and Shareen pulled up a chair. The Doctor sniggered and looked at the dark skinned girl who Rose had mentioned so many times.

"Oh, that's right. You're always off travelling with some handsome stranger." She turned to the Doctor. "You must be the famous Doctor."

"Yep!"

"Honestly, Rose, if you ain't shagging him, then I will!" The Doctor choked on the chip he was eating and had to wash it down with his drink. Rose couldn't help but giggle at his reaction.

"Sorry, he's taken," she said. "But I hardly doubt you don't have a hoard of boys lined up begging for you to date them. Look at you!" she cried in the same way as when someone sees that the fat girl from high school is now a rake like model.

"Look at me? Look at you!" Shareen countered. "You're skinnier. And who did your hair, it looks natural, they should get a bloody medal for that! You look amazing."

"Yeah, well, I was turned into an alien," Rose joked… even though it was the truth.

"Oh, Sweetie, don't even joke about that! What with everything that's been going on since you've been gone, someone might think you were telling the truth!" The two Time Lords had to hide a smile.

"Okay, no joking about aliens… But what about you? You've dropped like… what? Four dress sizes?"

"Oh, I've been on the Adipose Diet."

"The what?" the Doctor asked.

"Wow, how out of the loop are you? It's this new diet plan. Only been around a few months. You just take one capsule a day. It's brilliant!"

"How long have you been on it?" Rose asked, scrunching her nose. If it had only been around a little while then Shareen must have been losing a lot.

"Oh, just a few weeks. It's a three week diet, but you can always go back for more if you want. I think I'll stop after this pack. I mean, I don't want to turn into a beanpole! - no offence," she said offhand to the Doctor.

"You're too short to be a beanpole," Rose snorted.

"Oi! You're not too tall yourself, Miss-Five-Foot-Four!" She looked down at her watch and swore. She pulled the nearest napkin to her and jotted down a number. "You - keep in touch," she said sternly, pointing her pen at Rose. "Sorry, Love, I've got to dash. I got a new job at that fancy place we used to go to when we were little. I'm moving up in the world!"

And before either could react, the woman was gone. Rose and the Doctor took one look at each other and cracked up laughing.

"Is she always like that?" he asked.

"Actually, that's her toned down," Rose sniggered. "So, we've got some investigating to do, then?"

"Eh?" he said in confusion.

"Adipose," she said. "Shareen dropped at least four dress sizes in two weeks. Nothing human can do that, I'm telling you!"

"Mmm… you have a point there. And the TARDIS _was_ picking up some odd signals when we arrived."

"Well then, why don't you make some sort of gadget-thingy to find that signal, and I can work on the domestic approach?"

"Rose Tyler I like the way you think," he grinned. "Let's go do that!"

"Right after I finish these chips," she amended. Sitting back down the Doctor laughed silently at his mate. Some things would never change.

**?...DW…?**

"It's got to be something alien," Rose said as they looked up at the tall building of Adipose Industries. "Have you seen how much they're selling each bottle for? It's cheap as chips!"

"Adipose, why does that sound familiar…" he mused as they found a door. He was just about to open it when Rose stopped him.

"Doctor, that's a fire exit. You open it and the alarm goes off."

"Ah, yes… good point!" he took out his sonic-screwdriver, flipped it once in the air before catching it and discreetly disabling the alarm and unlocking the door.

As they walked down the corridor, they heard footsteps and quickly dropped hands. "John Smith, Rose Tyler, Health and Safety," he said, showing the psychic paper.

From there they found their way up into the top box of a lecture hall where they'd been told a press showing was being held. Thankfully, they didn't meet anyone else on this trip. They took a seat and watched through the small window as Miss Foster, the company CEO addressed everyone.

.

"Adipose Industries. The 21st century way to lose weight," she said in a voice that was rather smarmy for a woman. She clearly thought that she was pretty impressive. "No exercise, no diet, no pain. Just lifelong freedom from fat. The Holy Grail of the modern age. And here it is." She held up her hand, a pill obviously held between her thumb and finger. "You just take one capsule, one capsule, once a day for three weeks. And the fat, as they say…"

'The fat just walks away!' a voice on the video said as the words appeared on screen.

"Excuse me, Miss Foster, if I could?" a voice said from the audience. "I'm Penny Carter, science correspondent for the 'Observer'. There are a thousand diet pills on the market, a thousand con men stealing people's money. How do we know the fat isn't going straight into your bank account?"

"Oh Penny," Miss Foster said in a mockingly sweet voice. "If cynicism burnt up calories, we'd all be thin as rakes. But if you want the science, I can oblige." She took off her glasses smugly.

Immediately a video began to play. "Adipose Industries. The Adipose capsule is composed of a synthesised mobilising lipase, bound to a large protein molecule. The mobilising lipase breaks up the triglycerides stored in the adipose cells, which then enter…"

It was then that they heard a cough behind them and turned to see the projector man. The Doctor quickly flashed the psychic paper to him. "Health and Safety," he said, using their default before he saw the flaw. "…Film department."

"100% legal," Miss Foster told them. "100% effective."

"But can I just ask," Penny interrupted again. "How many people have taken the pills to date?"

"We've already got one million customers within the Greater London area alone," Miss Foster was starting to sound annoyed, but doing a fairly good job of hiding it. "But from next week, we start rolling out nationwide. The future starts here. And Britain will be _thin_."

**?...DW…?**

Rose and the Doctor walked purposefully into one of the cubicles in the sales office and took a chair. The Doctor put the psychic paper in front of the woman's face and whispered since she was on the phone.

"John Smith, Rose Tyler, Health and Safety. Don't mind us."

"The box comes with 21 days' worth of pills, a full information pack, and our special free gift, an Adipose Industries pendant," the woman was saying down the phone. But her attention was clearly focused on the Doctor… and Rose _really_ didn't like it. Curiously the Doctor picked said pendant up. "It is made of 18 carat gold, and it's yours for free. - No, we don't give away pens, sorry. - No, I can't make an exception, no. - Right. Thank you. Have a nice day." She pressed a button ending the call.

"Right, well, I'm going to need to keep this," the Doctor told her, dangling the pendant.

"And, could we please have a list of your customers?" Rose asked. The woman finally looked at her for the first time.

"Sure, I'll just print that out for you."

"Is that the printer over there?" Rose stood and nodded in the direction.

"By the plant, yeah."

"Great."

"Does it have paper?" the Doctor asked, popping his head up.

"Yeah, Jimbo keeps it stocked," she replied.

"Fantastic," Rose grinned. "I'm just going to go wait for that." And she walked over just as Miss foster came in with two guards. Quickly she hid her face behind a few of the leaves and watched the woman out of the corner of her eye.

"Excuse me, everyone, if I could have your attention," she called. All heads turned in her direction, except the Doctor (and redhead she didn't see) who hid down when she turned his way. "On average, you're each selling forty Adipose packs per day. It's not enough. I want one hundred sales per person per day. And if not… you'll be replaced. 'Cause if anyone is good at trimming the fat, it's me. Now, back to it."

And with that she stalked out, flanked by her guards. Wow, that woman was harsh.

Rose grabbed the printing and walked back to the Doctor and the sales woman. She completely missed the redhead walking behind her to collect the second list of customers that had been printed out.

"Thanks, then," she heard the Doctor say happily. She saw the woman hold out a piece of paper to him. Knowing what it was instantly, she took off her ring and swapped the finger, like she had once a long time ago. "Oh, what's that?" he said in surprise.

"My telephone number," she smiled at him.

"What for?" He genuinely didn't know… God, he was clueless.

"Health and Safety," she said. "You be health, I'll be safety."

"Oh. Ah, ah… But that..."

"Hey, Sweetie, I got them. Ready to go?" Rose asked innocently, making sure to flash the ring around as she waved the paper in the air. She was very satisfied when the sales woman's face fell. "Thank you. Nice meeting you," she said to her. Smiling awkwardly, the Doctor gave her a nod and left with Rose.

"You like using that ring, don't you?" he said, leaning in close to her.

"Yeah, well, it seems to get you out of a lot of awkward situations. Might have to make it permanent."  
>Suddenly the Doctor froze, a shocked, almost terrified look on his face… And Rose began to laugh.<p>

**?...DW…?**

They stood at the door to the house, making sure it was the right address before Rose knocked. A man who looked like he didn't really need to lose all that much weight answered the door.

"Mr Roger Davey, We're calling on behalf of Adipose Industries," the Doctor said, flashing the psychic paper. "Just need to ask you a few questions."

"Oh, ah… yes, yes, come in," Roger ushered them through the door. He went in and sat on his chair.

"Right, well, I'm Rose, and this is the Doctor," she told him. "Tell me, erm, how long have you been taking Adipose pills?"

"I've been on the pills two weeks now," he answered. "I've lost fourteen kilos."

"That's the same amount every day?" the Doctor half asked, half said in surprise.

"One kilo exactly. You wake up, and it's disappeared overnight. Well, technically speaking, it's gone by ten past one in the morning."

"Why do you say that?" Rose asked, a little surprised by his accuracy.

"That's when I get woken up. May as well weigh myself at the same time." But it's driving me mad. Ten minutes past one, every night, bang on the dot without fail, the burglar alarm goes off."

"Can I have a look?" said the increasingly suspicious Doctor. Roger shrugged and led them outside.

"I've had experts in, I've had it replaced, I've even phoned Watchdog. But no, ten past one in the morning, off it goes."

"But with no burglars?"

"Nothing. I've given up looking," he told them.

"Weird," Rose commented. And yes, that was slightly weird, even by her standards.

"Tell me Roger, have you go a cat flap?" the Doctor asked.

"Y-yes, right there," the man said in confusion. They knelt down and peered at and through it. "It was there when I bought the house. Never bothered with it. I'm not a cat person."

"No, I've met cat people," the Doctor said. "You're nothing like them." Roger looked at Rose weirdly when she failed her attempts to stifle her laughter.

"Is that what it is, though?" he asked. "Cats getting inside the house?"

"Just as pesky as plastic hands," Rose said, earning her another weird look from Roger and a grin from the Doctor, before he turned back to the flap with a frown.

"Well, the thing about cat flaps," he said seriously, "is that they don't just let things in, they let things out as well."

"Like what?"

"_The fat just walks away_," he quoted.

"What, you mean _literally_?" Rose said, slightly disgusted by the image in her head.

"Who knows," he said, suddenly dropping the cat flap and jumping up. "Mr Davies. Well, thanks for your help. Tell you what, maybe you should lay off the pills for a week or so."

Suddenly something started beeping and Rose pulled the funny looking device from off the belt tied around her waist.

"Doctor!" she called to him and chucked it.

"Ooh!" he said as he caught it. "Gotta go! Sorry!" he cried. And then they were off, running down the streets.

The device led them blocks and blocks away. The Doctor nearly missed the important when he started yelling at a speeding van that nearly hit Rose. If she hadn't pointed it out to him, then he wouldn't have noticed that the signal was coming from the van itself. They attempted to chase the van until it was out of range and they lost the signal.

Sighing, they headed back to the TARDIS.

.

How were they supposed to know that standing just down the other street was an old friend who'd spent moths searching for the two of them? And that they were soon going to meet again.

.

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><p><em><strong>I just HAD to write in Shareen. For some reason I've always imagined her with a sort of bronzy, light mocha skin tone. Not enough people write about Shareen. And yes, she will be in it a little more.<strong>_

_**This episode always seemed a little fast paced and flashy for me, so I hope I'm writing it alright.**_

_**Lot's of smutty ideas in the next chapter. Not actual smut, just the idea. And it's a little bit of foreshadowing really.**_

_**.**_

_**Hope you liked it!**_


	9. Partners in Crime, She's Alien

_**Yes, I know, I'm sorry. Rose is rather lacking in lines in this episode. But in my defence, I'm practically starting over here. This episode is solely centred on the Doctor and Donna. So it's a little hard to squish a third person in there when everything is all two liners. But I've done my best. And it will get better. This was just the episode that I had only one idea for, and it was a terrible idea at that (well, not terrible, just not that important).**_

_**But enjoy anyway. Warning, contains a few smutty hints.**_

* * *

><p>.<p>

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**She's Alien**

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"Ooh, fascinating!" the Doctor crowed as he looked at the golden Adipose capsule under a microscope. "Seems to be a bio-flip digital stitch, specifically for… Rose… where are you?" he looked around the console room, but couldn't see her anywhere. "Rose?"

He wandered the corridors, looking for her so he could tell her what he'd discovered. All thoughts of the capsule flew out of his mind, however, when a hand shot out of their bedroom door, grabbed him by the tie and pulled him into a kiss.

"About time you got here," she said breathlessly when she broke the kiss. Then she grinned cheekily. "So… you be Health, I'll be safety…"

.

It was hours later that the Doctor and Rose ran madly around the console, taking them to Adipose industries. The Doctor hit the console with a mallet for a few times and Rose glared at him.

"You really shouldn't do that," she warned him.

"Why not, it works."

"Do you have any idea how much she hates it?" The Doctor looked down sheepishly. He didn't use the mallet after that… not for that trip anyway. He didn't notice Rose slip one of the mallets into her very deep pockets.

.

Getting in again was just as easy, if not more so, than last time. Sneakily they hid in a cupboard and locked it. He did a scan of the cupboard to see if there was any alien tech and was surprised to find that there was.

He opened a panel to reveal some sort of alien computer mainframe. But all attempts to hack it were useless.

"Damn, it's triple dead locked!"

"Triple. That's new," Rose grinned. "Well, at least we know that Adipose Industries is definitely alien… But what are they doing?"

"I don't know," he replied. "But we can find that out later… it's why we're here after all. But right now… we are stuck in a tiny cupboard for over nine hours. And we have to be quiet so we're not caught…" He slowly backed her against the wall.

"You're terrible," Rose laughed.

"Your fault."

"Yeah, what you're thinking… being quiet is not going to work."

"You can try," he told her, beginning to kiss her neck.

"Yeah, I was more worried about you," she grinned cheekily.

"Oh, that's it Rose Tyler, you are so going to get it!"

**?...DW…?**

Nine hours and twenty minutes later all the employees had left Adipose Industries and a rather dishevelled Rose and the Doctor emerged from their cupboard.

"Damn… and the imperative's only just started," the Doctor muttered, attempting (and failing miserably) to tame his hair.

"What was that?" Rose asked him, not quite catching what he'd said.

"Oh, ah, don't worry about it," he told her. "…yet anyway. You'll see what I mean."

"Right…"

They didn't say anything more until they reached the roof. They didn't want anyone left in the building to hear them. They knew that Miss Foster was still there, somewhere.

"Hey, it's one of those window cleaning things!" Rose cried in delight when she saw it.

"Mmm, might be a good way to see what Miss Foster's doing. Let's go."

He grabbed her by the hand and helped her into the cradle. In moments they were down by her office. No one was there… but they quickly ducked down when the door opened.

The Doctor took out his stethoscope and tried to listen to the conversation through the wall. When he struggled to do that, he moved it up to the much thinner glass.

"You can't tie me up," he heard that reporter, Penny say. "What sort of country do you think this is?"

"Oh, it's a beautifully _fat_ country," Miss Foster replied. "And believe me, I've travelled a long way to find obesity on this scale."

"So, come on then, Miss Foster, those pills…" Penny said, losing none of her attitude of… reporter-ness despite her situation. "What are they?"

"Well, you might as well have a scoop, since you'll never see it printed. This," they peered up and saw her holding one of the capsules, "is the spark of life."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Officially, the capsule attracts all the fat cells and flushes them away. Well, it certainly attracts them, that part's true. But it binds the fat together and galvanises it to form a body.

"What do you mean, 'a body'?"

"I'm surprised you never asked about my name.-"

"Fake name, you owe me ten," Rose whispered.

"Alright, so she _is_ an alien," he conceded.

"-I chose it well. Foster. As in 'foster mother'. And these… are my children."

Rose and the Doctor risked another look through the window and their eyebrows went up. Sitting on the table was a small little _living_ blob of fat. It looked so cute. It was nothing like what Rose had imagined when she had thought of 'the fat just walking away'.

"You're kidding me!" Penny cried in alarm. "I don't- What is that?"

"Adipose," Miss Foster replied. "It's called an Adipose."

"Knew it sounded familiar," the Doctor muttered.

"Made out of living fat. Stripped from ordinary human people…"

Rose stopped listening when she saw a head of fiery red spying from the office door. She almost froze in shock when she saw Donna. Only a moment later Donna saw her, looking absolutely gleeful. Silently she tapped the Doctor till he looked at Donna too. He was completely stunned.

"Donna?" he mouthed.

"_Doctor! Rose!_" she mouthed, just as exaggerated.

"Wh-what? But? What?" the Doctor muttered quietly aloud. He was utterly perplexed.

"_Oh. My. God!_" Donna mouthed / shouted in delight.

"Donna, what are you…? How…?" Rose mouthed.

"It's me!" Donna mouthed back, pointing to herself.

"I can see that," a still very stunned Doctor mouthed, using hand actions to get the point across.

"Oh, this is _brilliant_!" she cried (mouthed), pulling the thumbs up.

"What the hell are you doing there?" the Doctor asked.

"I was looking for you," was the reply.

"What for?" Rose's brow furrowed. Was Donna in more extraterrestrial trouble or something?  
>"I was reading. On the internet," Donna mouthed and mimed. She did some weird whisker like gesture that had the both of them raising their eyebrows in confusion. "I crept along. Heard them talking. Hid. Saw you. Th-" Donna froze, her tongue sticking out and thumb pointed at the group inside.<p>

It was then that Rose realised there was no voices from in the office. The trio turned to see that every single person in the room was standing there staring at them. They froze, caught.

"Are we interrupting you?" Miss Foster asked them.

"Run!" the Doctor mouthed to Donna. Donna turned and ran away from the door window, out of sight.

"Get her!" Foster ordered. Trying to delay them, the Doctor sonic-ed the door shut. "And them," she added. Quickly the Doctor pointed to the box they were in and zoomed them to the top of the roof again.

They ran inside, searching for Donna and met her halfway down a stair well. When they bumped into each other Donna gave them both of them a huge hug which they gladly and quickly returned.

"Oh my god! I don't believe it!" Donna cried. "And you! You've even got the same suit… Don't you ever change?"

"Yeah, thanks, Donna. Not right now," the Doctor said as he heard guards coming.

"And Rose, you look gorgeous!"

"Aww, thanks, Donna. Come on," Rose gave Donna's arm a tug as she instinctually reached for the Doctor's hand.

"Just like old times!" the Doctor shouted gleefully as they sprinted up the stairs and back onto the roof.

.

"'Cause I thought, 'how do I find Rose and the Doctor?' And then I just thought, 'look for trouble and then they'll turn up'," Donna chattered away as the Doctor worked on the window cleaning cradle. Rose stood back with an amused smile. "So I looked everywhere, you name it. UFO sightings, crop circles, sea monsters. I looked, I found them all. Like that stuff about the bees disappearing. I thought, 'I bet they're connected'. 'Cause the thing is, Doctor, I believe it all now. You opened my eyes. All those amazing things out there, I believe them all… Well, apart from that replica of the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day. I mean, that's got to be a hoax!"

"Actually, that was us," Rose grinned.

"What to you mean, 'the bees are disappearing'?" the Doctor put his piece in. He climbed up the stairs to the cradle and Rose followed, Donna tagging behind.

"I don't know. That's what is says on the internet," she told them. The Doctor helped Rose into the cradle and jumped in himself. "On the same site, there was all these conspiracy theories about Adipose Industries. I thought, 'let's take a look'!"

"In you get!" the Doctor called down to her, only half listening to anything she'd just said.

"What, in that thing?" she said incredulously.

"Yes, 'in that thing'!" the Doctor mimicked her.

"Come on, Donna," Rose encouraged.

"But if we go down in that, they'll just call us back up again."

"No, no, no, 'cause I locked the controls with a sonic cage," he explained. "I'm the only one who can control it. Not unless she's got a sonic device of her own, which is _very_ unlikely."

"Great, you just jinxed it," Rose teased as Donna hesitantly climbed up and jumped in.

"Rose, she's not going to have anything sonic." He sonic-ed the cradle to descend.

"She's an alien!" she argued.

"Ah, but what kind of alien?" he said, sure he'd won this one.

"Oh, no you don't!" she told him, unimpressed. "You're not gonna get that tenner back. The bet was alien with a fake name, or human, working with aliens and being used as a cover. It had nothing to do with what _species_ of alien she is!"

"Bets!" Donna cried incredulously. "You two are terrible!"

"Yup, we love a good bet, don't we, Rose?"

Suddenly the cradle plummeted as the cables suddenly went at full tilt, just letting them drop. Rose's stomach dropped violently and the three of them ducked further down. The Doctor finally managed to grab his sonic-screwdriver and stop them. They came to a halt with a rather violent jolt. They looked up to see Miss Foster peering over the edge of the roof.

"Hold on, hold on," the Doctor said. "We can get in through the window." He sonic-ed it to no avail. "Can't get it open," he almost yelled in frustration.

"Well, smash it, then," Donna said, attempting with a spanner she found on the floor. When that didn't work, Rose pulled a metal mallet from her pocket.

"Where did you get that?" the Doctor asked in bewilderment, recognising it as one of his from the TARDIS.

"Confiscated it," she told him. "She barely tolerates the rubber one as it is. Right, stand back. Doctor, sonic the hammer, setting 58E." The Doctor grinned and did as he was told. In just a few short hits the window smashed. "And _that_ is how you counteract a deadlock on glass," she grinned smugly.

She reached in and unlocked the window. Trying to climb in, she was half dangling out when suddenly Donna cried out.

"She's cutting the cable!" There was a snap and the cradle fell away from her feet.

"Doctor!" she shrieked, terrified he'd fallen. But she heard him grunt as he hit the side. He was only a floor or two lower. But Donna kept screaming, getting further away.

"Donna!" the Doctor cried in fear.

"Doctor!" she cried back. Rose was relieved to hear that somehow she'd stopped only a few more floors below him.

"Hold on!" the Doctor called out.

"I _am_!" was Donna's frustrated reply.

"Rose, climb inside," he grunted as if he were struggling to hold something heavy. She scrambled for a footing, glad that the rubber soles of her chucks found grip against the glass. Once she was up, she saw the predicament they were in. The cradle hanging by one cable, the Doctor sitting in the bottom of it, and Donna dangling from the end of the broken cable.

Quickly she pelted out of the room and rushed to find the floor that Donna was on. She ended up in the office they had been spying on. Penny was still tied to the chair and was looking out the widow in shock and confusion at Donna's dangling legs.

"What the hell is going on?" she said.

"You _really_ don't want to know," Rose told her, going over to the window, unlocking and opening it. The Doctor rushed in a minute later while Rose was trying unsuccessfully to grab a struggling Donna's legs.

"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?" Penny said in annoyance.

"What are you, a journalist?" the Doctor asked as he grabbled a hold to.

"Get off me!" Donna shouted at them.

"Stop kicking!" Rose shouted back.

"Yes!" Penny answered the Doctor in frustration.

"Well, make it up! - Donna, I've got you. Stay still, will you!"

"How did you get in?" Rose asked in confusion.

"Climbed up to the window you smashed," he replied.

Finally the two of them managed to pull Donna in. "I was right," she puffed. "It's always like this with you two, isn't it?"

"Oh yes!" they said in unison. "And off we go!" the Doctor added, grinning as he took Rose's hand and ran out the door. Donna grinned and followed.

"Oi!" the voice called them back.

"Sorry," the Doctor called as he popped back in. He cut the ropes with the sonic and began to run off again… but then he popped back. "Now do yourself a favour, get out." And they were running again.

…

Running right into Miss Foster in the offices.

"Well then," she said silkily, taking off her glasses. "At last."

"Hello," Donna deadpanned, giving a little wave.

"Hi ya!" Rose grinned.

"Nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor," the Doctor told them. "And this is Rose."

"And I'm Donna," she chipped in.

"Partners in crime," she smiled. "And evidently off-worlders, judging by your sonic technology."

"Oh, yes," the Doctor said excitedly, patting down his pockets. "I've still got your sonic pen." He held it up and looked at it. "Nice, I like it. Sleek, it's kind of sleek." He showed it to the girls.

"Oh, it's definitely sleek," Donna nodded.

"Damn… now I _really_ want one," Rose muttered.

"And if you were to sign your real name, that would be…?" the Doctor continued.

"Matron Cofelia of the Five-Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet. Intergalactic class."

"A wet nurse," the Doctor said. "Using humans as surrogates."

"I've been employed by the Adiposian First Family to foster a new generation after their breeding planet was lost," Matron Cofelia explained.

"What do you mean 'lost'?" the Doctor said incredulously.

"How the hell do you loose a planet?" Rose cried.

"Oh, politics are none of my concern. I'm just here to take care of the children on behalf of the parents."

"What, like an out of space Super Nanny?" Donna said in bewilderment.

"Not a bad idea, actually," Rose hummed.

"Yes, if you like," Matron agreed.

"So… so those little things, they're made out of fat, yeah? But that woman, Stacy Campbell, there was nothing left of her," Donna said.

"Oh, in a crisis the Adipose can convert bone and hair and internal organs. Makes them a little bit sick, poor things."

"What about poor Stacy?" Donna cried incredulously.

"So you just killed her?" Rose said aghast. "There was some sort of emergency and you just decided, 'Nope, I'm just going to change her completely and _kill_ her'!"

"Seeing a level 5 planet is against galactic law," the Doctor growled.

The Matron's face turned cold and her voice dropped. "Are you threatening me?" she said.

"I'm trying to help you, Matron," he told her seriously. "This is your one chance. 'Cause if you don't call this off, then we'll have to stop you."

"I hardly think you can stop bullets," she said snidely.

"Well, actually…" Rose thought a moment how if she practiced, she may actually be able to one day. She was snapped out of that thought as she heard the clicking of guns being loaded and aimed.

"No! Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, one more thing, before… dying. Do you know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices against each other?" He took out his sonic-screwdriver and held a sonic in each hand.

Matron slowly let out an irritated breath. "No," she said shortly.

"Nor me!" he said brightly. "Let's find out!"

Then, with a fierce look on his face, he pointed the blue tips towards each other and turned them on. A horrible high pitch ringing noise blasted out at them all. Everyone but the Doctor instantly put their hands to their ears. It wasn't quite so bad for him and Rose, being a different species that could almost handle that frequency. But the guard (obviously not human either) fell to the ground, close to breaking point. It had Matron Cofelia down… and unfortunately Donna too.

"Come on!" Rose cried as the sound caused glass to shatter around them. She took Donna and the Doctor by the arm and dragged them away. The Doctor stopped the noise… and once again, they were running.

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><p><em><strong>Yeah, I know it's a little fast paced… then again, so is the episode. Since I've cut all the Donna background scenes this story is probably going to be shorter… But fear not, I have a very good idea for the end.<strong>_


	10. Partners in Crime, Happy Birthday

_**Hi! Sorry, I know! Same excuse as usual. Work and other stories. Close to finishing lots of other chapters, only I think I've gotten a bit of writers block on some of them. If you want to chuck me a suggestion for ANY story, feel free.**_

_**Also, just wanted to remind you all that I have a facebook page: www facebook com/pages/Krazy-Ky-sta-Hatter/211442535611697?ref=tn_tnmn**_

_**I do sneak peeks, images and all sorts on there. If you love my fice, you really should 'like' the page.**_

_**I now also have a tumblr. The name is 'ky-sta'. www ky-sta tumblr com. I'm just getting used to it, but it seems like fun.**_

_**Ooh! And please check out my latest poll!  
><strong>_

_**Enjoy the story!**_

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><p>.<p>

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**Happy Birthday**

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"Who needs a bloody diet plan, when they have you?" Donna puffed as they sprinted down the corridors.

"Tell me about it!" Rose laughed. The Doctor just rolled his eyes and dragged her into the cupboard they had used before. Donna followed them in and snorted as he started sorting through the supplies, throwing them out into the corridor to give them more room.

"Well, that's one solution, hide in a cupboard. I like it," she said sarcastically.

"We hid in here all day," Rose told her. "Better than hiding in a bathroom." Donna's face fell at that. Of course it would have been. She never really chose the best spot, did she?

Meanwhile the Doctor had opened up the back of the cupboard to reveal the computer like thing they had tried to hack into earlier.

"Been hacking into this thing all day, because the Matron's got a computer core running through the center of the building. Triple deadlocked. And now I have this," he put on his glasses and held up the sonic pen, "I can get into it."

"All day," Rose muttered with a roll of her eyes. "What about the guards?"

"She's wired up the whole building. We need a bit of privacy." He held two sparking plugs together.

"You just zapped them, didn't you!" she cried in alarm.

"Just enough to stop them," he defended. "Why's she wired up a tower block? What's it all for?" He ducked down and began fiddling with cables.

"He's been asking that all morning," Rose said quietly to Donna.

Donna smiled then took a moment to look at the both of them. "You look older. The both of you."

"Thanks," the Doctor replied sincerely.

"We've been through a lot since we last saw you," Rose told her quietly. "Had another companion with us. Martha, Martha Jones… Kind of destroyed half her life. And her family's. Heck, I even changed species."

"What? Like and operation?"

"No… remember big glow-y future predicting Goddess of Time thing?" Donna nodded. "That kept getting worse till it turned me into a Time Lady. Pretty much, I'm one of him." She nodded to the Doctor.

"What? You're kidding!" Donna exclaimed.

"Hang on," the Doctor paused what he was doing a moment. "You knew about that?" he asked Donna. Donna just shrugged an affirmative. "How is it that everyone knew but me?"

"Well, at first you weren't paying attention. Then you decided to ignore me. And then I tried to hide it from you."

"God, you two are idiots," Donna muttered.

"So we've been told."

"At least tell me that you've gotten over that denial of feelings issue."

Rose laughed. "Yes. Yes, we're over that one. Everything really came out in one big rush. '_Rose, I love you. Doctor, I'm not human. Look out, end of the world… again_'."

"I was right, this really is your life."

"And what about you?" the Doctor asked. "I thought you were going to travel the world."

"Easier said then done," she sighed. "It's like I had that one day with you two and I was gonna change. I was gonna do so much. Then I woke up next morning, same old life. It's like you were never there. And I tried. I did try. I went to Egypt. I was gonna go barefoot and everything. And then it's all bus trips and guidebooks and 'don't drink the water' and two weeks later you're back home. It's nothing like being with you. I must have been mad turning down that offer."

"What offer?" the Doctor said in confusion.

"To travel with us," Rose reminded him, rolling her eyes.

"Travel with us?" He said, a little stunned at that. He was looking at Donna in shock.

"Oh, yes, please!" Donna grinned, accepting his 'offer'. Rose shook her head and tried to stifle her laugh.

"Right…" he said, a little dazed as to how they'd gotten to this point in the conversation.

'_Inducer Activated_,' the computer announced, breaking the moment. The three of them looked at it aghast.

"What's it doing now?"

"She's started the program!" the Doctor said in alarm.

'_Inducer Transmitting._'

"So, more of those little fat guys are going to be jumping out of people?" Rose asked him.

"So far they're just losing weight," he said as he furiously worked on the computer. "But the Matron has gone up to emergency pathogenesis." Rose went pale.

"That's when they convert…" Donna couldn't finish.

"Skeletons, organs, everything. A million people are going to die! I've got to cancel the signal." He pulled out the golden capsule pendant and pulled one end off to reveal a chop inside. "This contains the primary signal. If I can switch it off, the fat goes back to being just fat." He began working on hooking it up to the computer.

'_Inducer increasing.'_

"Shit," Rose breathed.

"No, no, no, no, no. She'd doubled it. I need… I haven't got time! It's too far, I can't override it! They're all going to die!"

"Is there anything I can do?"

The Doctor was as close to panicking as Rose had ever seen him. "Sorry, Donna, this is way beyond you! Got to double the base pulse, I can't…"

"Doctor, tell me, what do you need," Donna said firmly.

"I need a second capsule to boost the override, but I've only got the one. I can't save them!" He went back to frantically flicking switches. Casually, Donna pulled a pendant from her pocket and held it up.

"Donna, you're _brilliant!_" Rose exclaimed.

The Doctor looked up to see the pendant in her hand and stared at her in shock. In the next second the three of them burst out in incredulous laughter. Quickly he wired the pendant in as an alarm began to go off. Then it was silent. It powered down and the green light of the computer faded.

The relieved smiled dropped from their faces when loud metallic grating could be heard above them.

"What the hell was that?" Donna whispered.

"It's the Nursery," he replied.

"Wait a minute… When you say 'nursery' you don't me a crèche in Notting Hill," Donna said.

"Nursery ship."

Suddenly the computer behind them lit up again. '_Incoming signal.'_ And then the message came in an alien language.

"Ooh. Wait a minute…" He and Rose stopped and listened.

"Hadn't we better go and stop them?" Donna asked.

"Hang on, instructions from the Adiposian First Family." They listened for a moment. "She's wired up the tower block to convert it into a levitation post. _Ooh!"_

"Oh no…" Rose said.

"Oh. We're not the ones in trouble now. _She_ is!"

He sprinted from the room and Rose and Donna quickly followed.

.

They ran up to the roof to see thousands of adorable little 'fat' babies floating up levitation beams to the nursery ship.

"What you going to do, then?" Donna asked. "Blow them up?"

"They're just children. They can't help where they came from," he told her.

"Oh, that makes a change from last time."

"Well, in his defence, the Racnoss _were_ going to kill everyone, just because they were hungry," Rose said.

"And she kidnapped Rose. I don't like it when people kidnap Rose." Rose rolled her eyes and waved back at a little Adiposian who had waved to her. The others joined her.

"I'm waving at _fat_," Donna said incredulously.

"Yup," Rose grinned.

"Actually, as a diet plan, it sort of works," the Doctor mused. Then he saw the Matron rising up one of the beams right next to them. "There she is!" They ran to the edge of the building. "Matron Cofelia, listen to me!"

"Oh, I don't think so, Doctor," she sneered. "And if I never see you again, it will be too soon."

"Oh, why does no one ever listen?" he complained. "I'm trying to help! Just get across to the roof. Can you shift the levitation beam?"

"What, so that you can arrest me?"

"Just listen. I saw the Adiposian instructions. They know it's a crime, breeding on Earth. So what's the one thing they want to get rid of? Their accomplice!"

"I'm far more than that," she told them. "I'm nanny to all these children."

"Please just listen to him!" Rose cried when she saw that there were no more baby Adipose in the levitation beams. That was the signal.

"Exactly!" the Doctor said frantically, trying to convince her. "Mum and Dad have got the kids no. They don't need the nanny anymore!"

A dark look came across her face. But just then, the beam vanished. For a moment Matron Cofelia was suspended in mid air. She looked down in bewilderment before she plummeted to the pathement. Rose curled her face into the Doctor's chest to hide from the sight and Donna scrunched up her eyes into her arm. The Doctor only watched on in horror.

When the screams stopped, they all looked back up to the ship. They could see some of the baby Adipose waving to them as the ship left.

.

"Shareen!" Rose suddenly cried. She frantically began digging around in her pocket.

"What?" Donna said in confusion.

"My friend, Shareen. She was on the Adipose pills!" She found the napkin with the number and punched it in. "Come on, Shareen, come on. Pick up!"

"Hello?" came a shaky voice.

"Shareen!" Rose cried in relief.

"Rose! Oh my god, you will not believe what just happened! I think it was them aliens again. Seriously! I was out having drinks, and then these little fat things just jumped out of me!" Shareen squeaked.

"I know, I know. Calm down, Sweetie. Are you okay?"

"Well, I have no freaking clue what's going on…"

"Are you hurt?"

"I… I don't think so." She could tell that Shareen was confused and close to tears.

"Okay, don't worry. I'll come round. I'll be there in a few minutes. Where are you?"

"Outside our bar."

"Right. Stay there. Don't move. I'll see you in a few." She hung up and looked at the time, taking in so she could go back to a few minutes later.

"She okay?" the Doctor asked.

"She's freaked out. I tell you, humans have not had the best experiences with aliens so far."

"They really haven't."

**?...DW…?**

The Doctor took the sonic pen from his pocket. He had no use for it. He really should throw it out…

But then he remembered the little things Rose had said. '_You know, I really need my own one of these,_' as she had handed him the sonic after using it to save Astrid's life. And, '_Damn… now I __really__ want one_,' she had muttered when they were talking about the pen.

With a smile, he turned to Rose. "Present for you," he held it out to her. "If you want it."

"Really?" Rose asked, her eyebrows rising in surprise.

"Well, I don't need it. Matron… well… she's not exactly going to need it… And we can't leave it about for someone to find, or-"

"Yes!" Rose said snatching it from his hand. "Ha! Oh my god, I have a sonic!" A new thought occurred to her, thinking about the previous owner. "You know, we really should call Jack and have him send someone in to get Matron Cofelia's body. It won't be too good if they do an autopsy and realise she's not human."

"Oh… good point…"

"Oi, you three!" a voice startled them. They turned to see Penny coming towards them. She was tied to the chair again and was walking bent and funny because of it. "You're just mad!" she accused. "Do you hear me? Mad! And I'm going to report you… for… Madness!"

Then she ran off towards the police. The three of them stared after her in bewilderment.

"You see, some people just can't take it," Donna said.

"No," the Doctor replied.

"Most definitely not," Rose said.

"And some people can," Donna added brightly. "So, then. TARDIS! Come on!" She grabbed the Doctor by the hand and gave him a pull. Rose began to laugh and followed behind.

.

As they walked up the alley towards the TARDIS, Donna suddenly stopped.

"That's my car!" she said in delight. "That is like destiny! And I've been ready for this." She went over and popped the boot to reveal a bunch of suitcases. "I packed ages ago, just in case. 'Cause I thought, 'hot weather, cold weather, no weather. He goes anywhere'." She began loading the bags into his arms. "I've got to be prepared." She shoved one last box on top.

"You've got a… a… hat box?" the Doctor said in bewilderment.

"Planet of the Hats, I'm ready!" she cried. Rose laughed and grabbed a bag or two off him. She was still laughing as she unlocked the TARDIS for a still bewildered Doctor, and started loading the bags into the console room.

"He's quiet," Donna commented.

"He's in shock," Rose replied with a smile. "Doesn't usually work like this."

"Well, how did you get dragged along? As far as I can figure, you _used_ to be normal."

"I was. Average, boring life. Mum, work, boyfriend. Then this one blows up job because it's been invaded by living plastic," Rose told her. "After I pretty much saved his butt, he asked me along with him… I said no. Course, he came back a few seconds later. All he did was tell me that it also travels in time and I was leaving my life behind me."

"'_Did I mention it also travels in time?_' Best pick up line ever," the Doctor grinned, snapping to his senses and helping load the bags in.

"So you're both okay with me coming?" Donna finally figured to ask.

"I'd love it!" the Doctor told her.

"You already had my vote," Rose grinned.

"Oh, that just…!" Words failed her, so she flung herself at the two of them in turn. Then she seemed to realise something. "Car keys!" she cried.

"What?" the Doctor said in confusion as she pulled a set of keys from her pocket.

"I've still got my mum's car key! I won't be a minute!" And she was off out of the TARDIS.

.

She emerged from the alley on her phone. Her mother was being her usual self. "I know, Mum, I saw it. Little fat people. Listen, I've got to go. I'm staying with Veena for a bit."

"But it was in the sky-"

"Yeah, I know. Spaceship. But, I've still got the car keys. Look, there is a bin on Brook Street, about thirty feet from the corner. I'm going to leave them in there," she said as she chucked them in.

"What? A bin?"

"Yes, I said 'bin'."

"But you can't do that," Sylvia complained.

"Oh, stop complaining. The car's just down the road a bit. Got to go. _Really_ got to go. Bye."

"But Donna, you can't-" Donna hung up. Looking around she went to a dark skinned man standing near by. "Listen," she said to him. "There's this woman that's going to come along. A tall blonde woman called Sylvia. Tell her, that bin there." She pointed. "Right, it'll make sense. That bing there."

"Sorry, Babe," he replied. "I was only here looking for a mate. But she's not here. And I gotta go. Why don't you tell that cop? Looks like they're going to be here a while."

"Yeah, good point. Thanks," she grinned at him. She went over to the nearest police and repeated what she had said to the other guy before heading back to the TARDIS. Looking back, she saw the policeman looking suspiciously through the bin. And the other man… was nowhere in sight.

.

"Off we go, then!" she said as she stepped inside and closed the door.

"Here it is," the Doctor said, leaning casually against the console, one arm around Rose. "The TARDIS. It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside-"

"Oh, I know that bit. Although frankly, you could turn the heat up."

"Yeah, we need to adjust it to be comfortable to humans too," Rose muttered. She knew all too well what it was like when she had first come aboard to find it always rather cold. But when she had said something about it, the Doctor found a temperature that suited them both.

"So, whole wide universe, where do you want to go?"

"Oh, I know exactly the place," Donna smiled.

"Which is?"

"Two and a half miles, that way," she said with the nod of her head. This was going to be brilliant.

.

.

.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I never really realised how short this story was. For a moment I was afraid that this chapter was only going to be 4 pages. Little bit more of it to go. More with Shareen.<strong>_

_**Kind of sad, because I had to cut my favourite scene. Because of the changed circumstances, my oh so favourite 'I'm not mating with you, Sunshine!' just wouldn't quite fit. I was tempted for her to say, 'don't you have Rose for that?' But truth be told, they would never get to that conversation in the first place.**_


	11. Partners in Crime, Holy Shit

**Holy Shit**

.

.

"That him?" the Doctor asked, turning the monitor to show Donna. On the screen they could see an old man wearing headphones sitting next to a telescope.

"That's him," Donna grinned.

"Well go on, go say hi."

Donna rushed open the doors and they looked out to see her grandfather pointing and calling to someone. They all waved when he looked through the telescope, and laughed as he threw up his hat and began doing a little dance, shouting his head off.

"You just made his lifetime!" Donna said happily.

"I aim to please," he shrugged happily.

"He's going to _love _hearing about all these adventures. So, promise me that we'll go back and visit sometime."

"Of course we will," Rose said. "We always used to go back so I could see my family and friends…" Suddenly her face fell and her eyes widened when she appeared to remember something. "Shareen!" she cried, pressing buttons on the console. "I promised her I'd be there in five minutes!"

She keyed in the time and place and dashed about as the Doctor stared at her in bewilderment.

"You've been paying attention," he said, slightly surprised that she was doing everything right. "No, no! Don't touch that one!" he cried as she reached for a leaver he was pretty sure would explode the ship.

"But it's the hand break," she said. How the hell did she know that?

.

After a surprisingly smooth ride, Rose rushed from the TARDIS… only to nearly trip over a stunned Shareen. The woman's green eyes were wide as she stared at the TARDIS. She began to look back and fourth between the box and the people stepping out of it.

"R-Rose?" she said in shock. "What was-? You just… How…?" She ran a hand through her frizzy hair and Rose knew she was about to freak.

"Shareen, calm down. It's alright," she soothed.

"You just stepped out a tiny box that appeared out of nowhere!" she squeaked.

"Yup… yup, I did." Yeah… there really wasn't a better answer for that.

"But… but, you… and it's tiny. And… How did it do that? What the hell is going on?" Rose grabbed her friend by the shoulders and sat her down in one of the outside bar seats.

"Look, first things first. Are you sure you're okay?" Rose asked. "I mean, physically. The Adi- erm… little fat people. They didn't hurt you. Other than shock, you're alright? …Breath, Shareen."

Shareen took a deep breath. "Other than shock… I think I'm fine. I mean, it hurt like a bitch when it was happening. But I'm okay now."

"Good."

"Rose, what the hell is happening here? I get that those were aliens, alright. Walking fat, spaceships. Great. Regular day in London.-"

"They really shouldn't have been here," the Doctor said, leaning against the wall. "Breeding on a level five planet is against the intergalactic law."

"Breeding? Level five?" she said in bewilderment."

"Well, you're a planet that's populated but completely benevolent. Don't even have proper outer space travel. By law, if they can't interfere with you, you can't interfere with them-"

"Doctor," Rose warned him.

"This… this is insane. What is that thing?" she nodded to the TARDIS. "And how the hell would he know about… intergalactic law? And who the hell is he anyway? You've been travelling with him for three - four years and I've hardly heard anything about him other than he's a doctor and he travels!"

"Okay, Shareen, this is going to be really hard to take in."

"You bet it will!" she cried.

"But… I wasn't joking when I said I was turned into an alien."

"Yeah, sure," she scoffed.

"No, really. The Doctor is an alien. That box is his spaceship, the TARDIS. It's bigger on the inside and it travels through time and space by materialising. That's why it appeared out of nowhere. And last year, something happened to me that made me turn into… well, the same kind of alien as him."

"You were abducted by an alien?"

"No!" Rose cried. "I went with him. He invited me along, and I said yes."

"The second time," the Doctor added, a little sulkily.

"He's an alien," Shareen was still a little shell shocked.

"Yep, I just said that."

"But he looks human! And so do you!" she cried.

"Oi! I don't look human, you look Time Lord," the Doctor said indignantly. "We came first."

"I'm not sure I believe this…" Shareen said.

"Well, here's one way to prove it," Rose told her. Cautiously, she took her friend's hands and placed them over her hearts, just like when she had shown the Doctor.

"Holy Shit," she breathed. "You… you have two hearts."

"Yep, I noticed that. It was kind of hard not to." Rose winced at the memory. Shareen snatched her hands away.

"But… but you're an alien… How the hell are you an alien?"

"Erm… well, it's a rather long and complicated thing… and it was a complete accident. But pretty much, I did something to save his life, and then something else happened that set off a chain reaction of very slowly turning me into him."

"Did your mum know?" Shareen asked quietly. "Before she… did she know?"

"Before she what? Oh! Oh no, she's not dead. She and Mickey are in a parallel universe. She has dad back and last we saw her, she was pregnant… But no. She didn't know. This happened after."

"You're kidding?" Shareen cried. "She's alive?"

"She is," Rose told her happily.

"Bloody hell, Rose!" Everyone just stood there silently for a moment. The Doctor was almost shocked that Donna hadn't said anything yet. "This is a lot to take in," Shareen said after a moment.

"Yeah, try living it," Rose told her, sitting down next to her. "But it's completely brilliant."

"I can agree to that," the Doctor grinned.

"Let me get this straight," Shareen said, a lot calmer now. "Four years ago, you just randomly bump into an alien and he asks you to travel with him. You say no, he asks again, you say yes. You go gallivanting around the universe in a box that travels in _space and time_ in the blink of an eye, and somehow get turned into an alien?"

"In a nut shell, yeah. Sounds better if you add in the stories."

"Then tell them to me."

"They're very long stories," Rose told her.

"It's eight at night and I have an open tab," Shareen countered.

"Doctor?" Rose asked.

"Ooh! You have to!" Donna cried, finally speaking up. "I know I'll never get much out of this guy," she jerked her thumb at the Doctor. "I want to hear the whole thing."

"Oh, alright!" the Doctor grumbled, taking a seat next to Rose and grabbing her hand. '_But there are some things that I refuse to let you tell them, Miss Tyler,' _he added in her head. Rose just laughed.

"How about you get us some drinks, and I'll start," she suggested.

"Drinks… yes… Something tells me I'm going to need one," he muttered. Getting up, he placed a kiss on her head and headed inside the bar.

"So, start from the beginning," Shareen said excitedly, sitting forward in her chair.

"And don't leave out any of the good parts about how stupid Spaceman can be," Donna grinned smugly.

"Well, remember when Henriks blew up?" she asked. They both nodded.

"I was so scared. I knew you were working that night," Shareen said.

"Yeah, I was. I went down to the basement to give Winston the lottery money and suddenly all the plastic dummies came to life and tried to kill me. Then someone grabs my hand and tells me to run. I mean, I thought they were students dressed up, not _actual_ living plastic! He gets me out, all 'Nice to meet you Rose, I'm the Doctor… Run for your life!', and then he runs back into the building. Next thing I know he's blowing it up! The next day he turns up at my house…"

.

.

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* * *

><p><em><strong>So, just a little short one. Shareen knows she's an alien! I just kind of find it sad that she didn't really have a connection to Earth anymore. They always used to go back so she could see her Mum and Mickey, but after they were gone, there was no one left for her to really stay connected.<strong>_

_**So, I'm brining the connection back and letting her best friend know. Some of you asked for more of a description of Shareen, so I slipped a few things in. in case you didn't catch them: she had mocha coloured skin, green eyes and dark frizzy hair. I imagine that with or without the frizzy hair she's taller than Rose. And now, thanks o Adipose, she's skinny too. (I don't think she was ever that fat, maybe just a little chubby and didn't like it. I had a friend like that).**_


	12. Fires of Pompeii, Whatano?

_**Right, well I haven't done one of these for a VERY long time, so I figured I should. Disclaimer: I DO own Doctor Who… in an alternate universe.**_

_**Wrote this in a few hours. See, if you get writers block or sick of writing something (it was block by the way, just a little tired and slow with it) then write something else then come back, read over with new eyes.**_

_**Big thanks to heterodyne-girl for beta-ing!**_

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

.

**_*Fires of Pompeii*_**

.

** What-ano?**

.

.

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and grinned when he saw where they had landed. It was Donna's first real trip and he had set the controls to random. He was hoping they'd get a decent place, and boy did they get a great one!

"Ancient Rome!" he said, as Rose and Donna stepped up beside him. Rose took his hand. "Well, not to them, obviously; to all intents and purposes right now, this is brand new Rome."

Rose felt a small shiver run down her spine. Something was a little off about this place. It felt… she didn't know…_ stuck_. It made her gut clench. She didn't know how to explain it, but she had felt it before. And it wasn't really the most pleasant of feelings. But she was too distracted by the sight of their new companion to worry.

"Oh my god!" Donna cried in delight. "It's so… it's so Roman!" Rose and the Doctor grinned and laughed as Donna spun around so she could look at everything. This was one of their favourite parts of taking a new companion. Rose could see now why he always had that huge smile on his face everywhere he took her. "This is fantastic!" Donna went on, giving them both a hug. "I'm here. In Rome. Donna Noble in Rome… This is just weird. I mean, everyone here is dead."

"Well, don't tell them that," the Doctor said when she spoke too loudly.

"As long as I don't get turned into a statue again, I'll be just fine," Rose said warily.

"Hold on a minute," Donna said flatly as she looked over their shoulder. "That sign over there is in English. Are you having me on? Are we in Epcot?"

"Nope," Rose grinned. "It's just the TARDIS translation circuits. Gets in your head, makes everything go English. Writing, speech. I kind of freak out the first time he told me… bit weird now considering I have the TARDIS _and_ him in my head."

Donna looked at her weirdly. "You two are telepathic?" they nodded. "Hold on, so does that mean you speak Gallawhatsit and I just hear English?"

"No," the Doctor told her. "Gallifreyan doesn't translate. I speak whatever language I want to. Right now I'm speaking Latin. You are too."

"Seriously?" she said in surprise.

"Mmm," he assured her.

"I just said 'seriously' in Latin!"

"Oh yeah," the Doctor grinned.

"How do you say 'Time Lord' in Latin?" Rose said curiously.

"Dominus Tempus," the Doctor told her, articulating the words in a weird way so it sounded funnier than it already was.

Donna laughed. "What if I said something in actual Latin? Like 'veni, vidi, vici'? My dad said that when he came back from football. If I said 'veni, vidi, vici' to that lot, what would it sound like?"

The Doctor paused a moment. "I'm not sure… You have to think of difficult questions, don't you? Reminds me of someone else… before she became a bit of a know it all," he teased. Rose elbowed him in the ribs and he grinned cheekily.

"I'm going to try it!" Donna said excitedly. She walked over to a nearby vendor with a large grin.

"Hello, Sweetheart," he said. "What can I get for you, my love?"

"Um… Veni, vidi, vici," Donna said to him.

The man looked at her blankly for a moment. "Huh? Sorry? Me no speak Celtic. No can do, Missy."

"Yeah," Donna said exaggeratedly, a little disappointed. She headed back to Rose and the Doctor. "What does he mean 'Celtic'?" she almost whined.

"Welsh," the Doctor told her. "You sound Welsh. There we are. Learnt something."

"Congratulations, Donna," Rose grinned. "You actually taught a Time Lord something he didn't know." The Doctor just pouted indignantly as they continued on. "You know, I want to dress up again. You looked good in that toga." The Doctor pouted even more and Donna laughed.

"Him in a toga?" she cried in delight. "Actually, that's a good point. Won't our clothes look a bit odd?"

"Nah. Ancient Rome, anything goes. It's like Soho, but bigger."

"And you've been here before then?" Donna asked him.

"Yeah, a few times. Last time Rose and I got turned into statues. I was terrified. There was a statue of Rose in the London Museum a while back; I thought that it actually _was_ her. Turns out I was the one who carved it. Before that I hadn't been back for ages. Before you ask, that fire had nothing to do with me. Well, a little bit. But I hadn't gotten the chance to look around properly. Coliseum - got stuck in there with a few dangerous animals once - Pantheon… Circus Maximus… You'd expect them to be looming by now. Where is everything?" he stopped and looked around, but there were walls on all sides. "Try this way," he said, dragging them off to one side.

"I'm not an expert," Donna said as they came into a clearing, "but there are Seven Hills of Rome, aren't there?"

"Ohh…" Rose said. "I may have been a statue most of the last visit, but I don't think that was there last time…"

"How come they only have one?"

The Doctor looked at the mountain in confusion. It seemed familiar…

Suddenly everything began to shake around them. Rose clung to the Doctor as the three of them toppled about. Around them vendors shouted and reached to secure their wares. Smoke began to rise from the mountain before them.

"It's a volcano," Rose gasped as she nearly felt to the ground, the Doctor pulling her up in time.

"Wait a minute!" Donna said as she tried to keep stable. "One mountain… with smoke… which makes this…"

"Pompeii," the Doctor stated darkly. "We're in Pompeii… and it's Volcano Day!" Everything slowly started to settle down.

"Sometimes I hate irony… and karma," Rose muttered. "This is what you get for teasing Jack about Volcano Day!"

"Let's go," the Doctor said, slightly panicked. He grabbed Rose's hand and started running to where the TARDIS was. Donna ran behind him, getting, but not fully understanding why he was so desperate to get away.

When they reached the spot, he whipped back the curtain it had been hidden behind… only to see that it was gone.

"You're kidding," Donna sighed. "You're not telling me the TARDIS is gone."

"Okay," the Doctor said.

"Where is it, then?"

"You told me not to tell you."

"Why does this keep happening? We need to put a homing signal on her…" Rose mused, thinking about when she had dragged it back.

"No!"

"What?" she said in bewilderment at the Doctor's reaction.

"You are never doing that again, you understand me?" he said forcefully. She could hear the fear in his voice. "Doing that almost killed you from exhaustion. You are _not_ allowed to ever, ever again use yourself to lock onto the TARDIS."

"Okay, I promise I won't," she said, holding her hands up in a 'I surrender' stance. The Doctor planted a kiss on her forehead before running off to the vendor that Donna had spoken to before.

"Um, excuse me!" he said frantically. "Excuse me! There was a box. A big, blue box. A big blue, wooden box. Just over there. Where's it gone?"

"Sold it, didn't I?" he replied smugly.

"It wasn't yours to sell!" Rose said angrily.

"It was on my patch, wasn't it? I got 15 ses 30 for it. Lovely jubbly," he grinned, rubbing his hands together.

"Who did you sell it to?" the Doctor asked, his voice going squeaky in his anger and distress.

"Old Caecilius. Look… if you want to argue, why don't you take it up with him? He's on Foss Street. Big villa, can't miss it."

"Thanks!" he cried, and they began run off. Suddenly he ran back. "What did he buy a big, blue, wooden box for?" he cried in bewilderment.

The vendor just shrugged. Rose took his hand, and they began running again.

**?...DW…?**

They had had to ask for directions, not knowing where the hell Foss Street was. Rose really wanted to get out of here. Donna couldn't feel what they could. Ever since they had figured out that they were in Pompeii, the horrible feeling in her gut was getting worse. She realised where she had felt it before. Jack. It felt like Jack.

"Ha!" the Doctor cried as he ran back towards them. "I've got it! Foss Street, this way!"

"No, I've found this big amphitheatre thing… We can start there. We can get everyone together. Then maybe they've got a big, bell or something we could ring. Have they invented bells yet?"

"What do you want a bell for?" the Doctor asked in confusion.

"To warn everyone, to start the evacuation! What time does Vesuvius erupt? When's it due?"

"It's 79 AD, 23rd of August, which makes Volcano Day _tomorrow_," he growled pointedly.

"Donna, we can't," Rose told her. But Donna was too caught up in her planning to hear her.

"That's plenty of time. We can get everyone out easy!"

"Yes, except we're not going to," the Doctor said, grabbing her by the arm and attempted to take her in the right direction. But she pulled him back.

"But that's what you do! You're the Doctor, you save people. Rose, tell him he has to help!"

"I wish I could, but I have to go with him on this one," Rose replied glumly.

"It's a fixed point in time, Donna," the Doctor told her. "What happens, happens. There is no stopping it." Again he tried to get her to move, to no avail.

"Says who?" she asked defiantly.

"Says me," he said firmly.

"What, and you're in charge?"

"TARDIS. Time Lord. _Yeah_," he said.

"Donna. Human. _No_," she countered.

"Rose. Time Lord. _Just shut up!_" They both looked at her in surprise. "Donna, we _can't_ tell them about tomorrow. It's a fixed point in time. You can change all the details you want. You can storm and rage and warn them all. You can send a few people out in time. But nothing will ever change the fact that tomorrow, Vesuvius will blow and thousands of people will die. Besides that, if you stand out here calling the end of the world, you're going to look like one of those homeless guys with a 'the end is nigh' sign."

Donna's mouth fell open and the Doctor had to try and stifle his laughter at the mental image that brought up. "But…" she squeaked.

"We don't like it any more than you. But I've messed around with established events before and it was not pretty. And I can _feel_ it. It's not comfortable being here, Donna. Right now, I really just want to go home and get away from this awful place. Come on. TARDIS."

With that, she turned on her heal and strutted away. When she reached the next fork, she headed left.

"Other way!" the Doctor called to her. Even from a distance she could see his grin.

**?...DW…?**

As they walked through the entry to the house, another shock hit. Seeing a falling bust at the end of the hall, the Doctor quickly rushed to grab it.

"Whoa!" he cried as he caught it just in time. "There you go," he grinned, patting its cheeks.

"Thank you, kind sir," a man said gratefully. He had been rushing to catch it at the same time as the Doctor, but would not have made it. He had dark hair, shot through with silver and was wearing expensive looking robes. "I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor."

"Oh, that's me," the Doctor said, shaking his hand. "I'm a visitor. Hello."

"Hi," Rose greeted him too. Slipping her had into the Doctor's and they walked past him into the house.

"Who are you?" he demanded, coming to stand before them, just as Donna caught up.

"I am… Spartacus," he decided. Rose tried her hardest not to laugh. It wasn't easy, especially when Donna spoke.

"And so am I," she said haughtily.

The man that they assumed was Caecilius looked between Rose, the Doctor, and Donna, especially noting the held hands. Confusion was written across his face, but then something clicked. "Oh! Brother and sister? Yes, you look very much alike."

"Really?" they both said in surprise, looking at each other for the resemblance. When Rose began to giggle at it, the Doctor pulled her closer.

"Oh, yes. And this is my wife, Helen."

'_Helen_?' she questioned through the link.

'_Of Troy_." She could hear the grin in his 'voice'.

'_Helen of Troy. Really?_'

'_Well, she was so beautiful that the Goddess of Beauty herself gave her as a gift of *the most beautiful mortal*. I thought that other than the *mortal* part it was appropriate._' Rose rolled her eyes and gave him a mental nudge.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trading," Caecilius told them.

"And that trade would be?"

"Marble." He placed his hand on his chest as a gesture to himself. "Lobus Caecilius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man."

"That's good," the Doctor said, reaching for his psychic paper. "That's good, 'cause I'm the marble inspector." He held it up to them.

"By the gods of commerce, an inspection," a posh redheaded woman gasped from further inside the house. They went towards her, watching as she took a goblet from a young man's hand just as he was about to drink. "I'm sorry, sir. I do apologize for my son," she said, tipping the wine into the pool he was sitting on.

"Oi!" he protested.

"This is my good wife, Metella," Caecilius introduced her. "I - I must confess, we're not prepared for a-"

"Nothing to worry about," the Doctor assured them brightly. "I'm sure you've got nothing to hide." Rose could feel him brighten as she spotted the TARDIS. "Although, frankly, that object rather looks like wood to me." They started towards it.

"I told you to get rid of it!" Metalla hissed at her husband.

"I only bought it today!" he defended, rushing over.

"Ah, well. _Caveat emptor_," he replied. 'Buyer beware'.

"Oh," Caecilius said in surprise. "You're Celtic. There's lovely."

The Doctor made a small show of looking and measuring the TARDIS. "I'm sure it's fine, but I might have to take it off your hands for a proper inspection.

"Although, while we're here, wouldn't you recommend a holiday, Spartacus?" Donna tried.

"I don't know what you mean, Spartacus," he warned.

"Oh, this lovely family, mother and father and son… Don't you think they should get out of town?"

"Why should we do that?" Caecilius said curiously.

"Just for fun," Rose shrugged. "You deserve it. Compensation for the… wood."

"Well, the volcano for starters," Donna cut over top of her.

"What?" he said, puzzled.

"Volcano."

"What-ano?"

"That great big volcano right on your doorstep.-"

"Oh, Spartacus, Helen, for shame. We haven't even greeted the household gods yet!" the Doctor grabbed them both by the shoulders and dragged them over to a small shrine, beginning to flick it with water as he spoke. "They don't even know what it _is_. Vesuvius is just a mountain to them. The top hasn't blown off yet. The Romans haven't even got a word for volcano. Not until tomorrow."

"Oh, great," she said sarcastically. "They can learn a new word… when they're _dying_."

"Donna, stop it!" both Rose and the Doctor growled.

"And you," the Doctor looked at Rose. "What are you doing? You _know_ it's a fixed point in time."

"Yeah, _this_ is, but _they're_ not," she whispered. "Look, it's not like I'm gonna do what Donna wants and run around shouting about a volcano. But we can try, can't we? We can just try. One family, two. It won't change a thing." She could feel Donna glare at her.

"So you want a thousand or so people to die?"

"No. But Donna-"

"Look at him, that boy," Donna nodded to the son. "How old is he, sixteen? And tomorrow he burns to death."

"And that's our fault?" the Doctor snapped.

"Right now, yes!"

Their arguing was cut off as a voice boomed from behind them. "Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the city government!"


	13. Fires of Pompeii, Out Soothsaid Bitch!

**I had a lot of fun with this chapter. It has the Soothsayer Battle… (Whenever I say it like that, I keep thinking of a dance battle, hence the name of the title ;D). So since Rose is clearly right next to him and not trying to find him, I've had to change some of the lines. I've also chucked in some of my own new prophecies. I've been assured by a friend who already knows the future plotlines that it is very subtle. But I would still like to hear all of your guesses. Most of you will get one of them, but it will be interesting to see what you think of the others.**

**Have fun!**

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><p>.<p>

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**Out-Soothsaid Bitch!**

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They turned to see a rather sour-looking older man walk in. His hair was grey, and he seemed to have a permanent sneer painted on his face. His clothes were cream and gold, and his cloak was so big it hid most of his body. He kept it mainly to one side, making Rose think of the stereotypical vampire thing with the arm.

"Lucius! My pleasure, as always," Caecilius greeted, walking forward to meet the man.

"Quintus, stand up!" Metella snapped. Rose, Donna, and the Doctor left the shrine and entered the main room, curious to see this guest.

"A rare and great honour, sir, for you to come to my house," Caecilius went on, holding out his hand to shake, but Lucius ignored it.

All he said was "The birds are flying north, and the wind is in the west."

Caecilius looked confused and taken aback. "Right. Absolutely. That's good, is it?"

"Only a grain of wheat knows where it will grow."

"There now, Metella, have you ever heard such wisdom?" he asked his wife.

"Never. It's an honour."

"Pardon me, sir, I have guests," Caecilius said. "This is Spartacus, and, uh, Spartacus, and his wife, Helen." The three of them smiled and waved at the sour man.

"A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind."

"But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark," the Doctor replied, completely nonchalant about the man's snappish tone.

"Ah! But what is the dark other than an omen of the sun?" Lucius said as he realized he was talking to someone worthy of his attention.

"I concede that every sun must set…"

"Ha!" he cried triumphantly, but the Doctor wasn't finished.

"And yet the son of the father must also rise." He gestured to Quintus.

"Damn," Lucius said. "Very clever, sir. Evidently a man of learning."

"Oh yes, but don't mind me," the Doctor grinned. "Don't want to disturb the status quo."

"He's Celtic," Caecilius said to Lucius in a stage whisper.

"We'll be off in a minute," the Doctor told them. He grabbed the two women by the shoulder and herded them off towards the TARDIS.

"I'm not going," Donna said quietly.

"You've got to."

"Well, I'm not."

"But this place feels creepy!" Rose said.

"And here it is," they heard Caecilius announce.

The Doctor took a quick peek over his shoulder as his curiosity got the better of him, and that was all it took to stop him in his tracks. The square slab of marble looked just like a circuit. It was even made of a blackish green marble and inlaid with silver. Now _this_ he couldn't ignore.

"Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?"

"As the rain pleased the soil," Lucius said.

"Oh, now that's… different," the Doctor said as they walked back over. "Who designed that, then?"

"My lord Lucius was _very_ specific."

"Where'd you get the pattern?"

"On the rain and mist and wind," was the reply. The Doctor made a face at that.

"But... that looks like a circuit," Donna said.

"Made of stone."

"So, that pattern… you just dreamt it up, yeah?" Rose asked the man.

"That is my job as city Augur."

"What's that then, like the mayor?" Donna asked snidely.

"Oh, ah, you'll have to excuse my friend. She's from, er… Barcelona." Turning to Donna and Rose, he said quietly, "This is an age of superstition… of official superstition. The augur is paid by the city to tell the future. 'The wind will blow from the west', that's the equivalent of the ten o'clock news!"

"They're laughing at us," a new voice spoke up. They turned to see a girl stagger in. She looked pale and sick, and was barely able to stand. "Those two, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us," she said in a slightly slurred voice.

"No. No, no. I meant no offence," the Doctor assured.

"I'm sorry. My daughter has been consuming the vapours," Metella said, rushing over to the girl, who looked barely fifteen.

"By the gods, mother!" Quintus cried in horror. "What have you been doing to her?!"

"Not now, Quintus," Caecilius growled.

"Yeah, but she's sick. Just look at her!"

"I gather I have a rival in this household," Lucius said, walking forwards. "Another with the gift."

"Oh, she's been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood," Metella said proudly. "They say she has remarkable visions.

"The prophecies of women are limited and dull. Only the men-folk have the capacity for true perception."

Rose snorted indignantly, and Donna was quick to comment. "I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate."

Suddenly another small earthquake shook the house and Lucius turned to Donna. "The mountain god marks your words. I'd be careful if I were you."

"Consuming the vapours, you say?" the Doctor said, before Donna could come out with anything else.

"They give me strength," she said weakly. Her mother had to hold her up as another small aftershock hit.

"It doesn't look like it to me."

"Is that your opinion… as a Doctor?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Doctor. That's your name," she said.

"How did you know that?" he said in bewilderment.

"The beautiful flower is a Rose. And you, you call yourself Noble."

"Now then, Evelina, don't be rude," Metella said faintly.

"No, no, no. Let her talk," the Doctor said, his curiosity on high.

"You all come from so far away."

"A female soothsayer is inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries," Lucius sneered.

"Oh, not this time, Lucius. I reckon you've been out-soothsaid."

"Is that so… man from Gallifrey?"

The Doctor's head snapped around to him, truly startled. "What?"

"Strangest of images. Your home is lost in fire, is it not?"

"But they can't…" Rose said.

"Doctor, what are they doing?" Donna said, worried.

"And you two. Daughter of… London. And… the daughter of two worlds, the daughter of the Vortex."

"How does he know that?" Rose asked fearfully.

"This is the gift of Pompeii," he said. "Every oracle tells the truth."

"But that's impossible," Donna said.

"Doctor, she will come," Lucius said ominously.

"Who will? Who's 'she'?"

"Rose, he will find you. And you, daughter of London… you have something on your back."

"What's that mean?" Donna said, reaching up as if to feel for it.

"Songs will be sung and shall rise from the ashes," Evelina said. "A past forgotten and a future found. But even the word 'Doctor' is false. Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars of the cascade of Medusa herself. You are a lord, sir. A lord… of time… And you, his lady. A bad, bad wolf. The Goddess of Time. The child with the entire universe running through her… living inside her. You are… the true oracle."

Suddenly, her exhausted body failed her, and she dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"Evelina!" her mother cried.

Instantly, Metella, the Doctor, and Rose rushed to the girl's prone body. Once checking that she was indeed alright, Quintus came and carried his sister to her room, followed by his very worried mother. Rose was absolutely disgusted when Lucius placed a bag of money in a stunned Caecilus's hands, grabbed the marble circuit, and left without another word.

* * *

><p><strong>?...DW…?<strong>

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><p>"She didn't mean to be rude," Metella said as Rose and Donna walked into the room. Apparently only the women were allowed in. "She's ever such a good girl. But when the gods speak through her…"<p>

"What is that?" Rose asked as Metella began unwrapping the material that wound up one of Evelina's arms. "What's wrong with her arm?"

"An irritation of the skin. She never complains, bless her. We bathe it in olive oil every night."

"What is it?" Donna said as they walked closer to see the unnatural tone of the skin. It was grey-ish and looked oddly rough.

"Evelina said you'd come from far away… Please, have you ever seen anything like it?"

The two women gently reached over and touched it. Rose gasped as her fingers trailed along the rough, hard, grey patch.

"But… how…?"

"It's stone," Donna said in shock.

* * *

><p><strong>?...DW…?<strong>

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><p>"So, what exactly did your wife mean when she said 'consuming the vapours'?" the Doctor asked, as night fell around them.<p>

"She was talking about the vapours from our hypocaust. It helps the oracles see better."

"Show it to me," the Doctor said. Caecilius led him over to the glowing red grating. "Ah… Different sort of hypocaust."

"Oh yes, we're very advanced in Pompeii. In Rome, they're still using the old wood-burning furnaces. But we've got hot springs… leading from Vesuvius itself."

"Who thought of that?"

"The soothsayers. After the great earthquake seventeen years ago. An awful lot of damage, but we rebuilt."

"Didn't you think of moving away?" the Doctor said. "Oh, no, then again, San Francisco."

"That's a new restaurant in Naples, isn't it?" Caecilius said, but he was drowned out by and almost roaring, rumbling like sound.

"What's that noise?"

"Don't know, happens all the time. They say the gods of the Underworld are stirring."

The Doctor pulled a face before looking back into the grate. "But after the earthquake, let me guess. Is that when the soothsayers started making sense?"

"Oh yes, very much so. I mean, they'd always been… shall we say, 'imprecise'. But then… the soothsayers, the augurs, the haruspex, all of them. They saw the truth again and again. It's quite amazing. They can predict crops and rainfall with absolute precision."

"Have they said anything about tomorrow?" the Doctor wondered.

"No." Caecilius paused. "Why, should they? Why do you ask?"

"No, no, no reason. Just asking," he said quickly. "But the soothsayers… they _all_ consume the vapours, yeah?"

"That's how they see," Caecilius said.

"Ipso facto," he said putting on his glasses and leaning into the hypocaust. He ran his finger along the rock inside.

"Look, you…"

"They're all consuming this," the Doctor said, straightening up. He pinched some of what was left by the vapour and let it fall from his fingers.

"Dust?"

"Tiny particles of rock." He tasted a little bit. It was mostly unknown, but it had familiar hints to it. It tasted a bit like a volcano. "They're breathing in Vesuvius."

.

The Doctor walked through the house till he came to they boy's room. He knew that Caecilius held that stuck up old soothsayer in too high a regard to help him. Perhaps some one who wasn't afraid to break the rules would be more helpful.

He found Quintus laying back on his chase, eating and drinking wine.

"Quintus, me old son… this Lucius Petrus Dextrus, where does he live?"

"It's nothing to do with me," he said, irritated. It sounded a bit like he had been told this many, many times. And like he couldn't be bothered. The Doctor knew just how to encourage him.

As he walked up to the chase, he sneakily pulled a coin from his pocket. "Let me try again. This Lucius Petrus Dextrus…" He pretended to pull the coin from behind the boy's ear, and he watched as his eyes lit up, following the coin like a starving man to the smell of food. "Where does he live?"

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He walked through the quiet streets, following Quintus. Eventually he stopped and gestured to a window.

"Don't tell my dad," he begged in a worried tone.

The Doctor jumped up into the window before turning back. "Only if you don't tell mine," he said. And then he jumped through. "Pass me that torch," he said, leaning back out. Quintus passed it up to him and followed through as the Doctor went further in to search.

The Doctor didn't complain or growl at him; he just passed him the torch as he went to look behind a curtain. Pulling it back, he revealed many of the marble circuits. The Doctor put his glasses on and stared in interest.

"The liar!" Quintus hissed. "He told my father it was the only one."

"Well… plenty of marble merchants in this town. Tell them all the same thing, get all the components from different places so no one can see what you're building."

"Which is what?" Quintus asked.

"The future, Doctor," Lucius said from behind them. They spun around to face him and his two guards. "We are building the future as dictated by the gods."

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><p><strong>?...DW…?<strong>

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><p>Donna moved her arms about, trying to get used to the long, strange shawl. Evelina giggled. Donna couldn't blame her, the shawl made her look like some red and purple bird.<p>

"You're not supposed to laugh. Thanks for that. Rose, your turn." Grinning, Rose took her dress and went into the next room to get changed. "What do you think?" she asked the girl, striking a classic pose. "The Goddess Venus."

"Oh, that's sacrilege!" she laughed.

"Nice to see you laugh, though." She sat down beside her. "What do you do in old Pompeii, then, girls your age? You got mates? You go hanging out about around the shops? TK Maximus?"

Evelina shook her head. "I am promised to the sisterhood for the rest of my life."

"Do you get a choice in that?"

"It's not my decision," she said. "The sisters chose for me. I have the gift of sight."

"Then… What can you see happening tomorrow?"

"Is tomorrow special?" Evelina smiled.

"You tell me," Donna said. "What do you see?"

Evelina closed her eyes. "The sun will rise. The sun will set. Nothing special at all." She opened her eyes again to see Donna looking at her sadly.

"Look… don't tell the Doctor I said anything, 'cause he'd kill me. And Rose wouldn't be too happy either… But I've got a prophecy too."

Evelina gasped and covered her eyes with her hands. It looked really odd, since she had eyes painted on the back of them.

"Evelina, I'm sorry, but you've got to hear me out. You said that Rose was the true oracle, well, this comes from her. Evelina, can you hear me? Listen!"

"There is only one prophecy," she said, clearly not wanting to hear this.

"But everything I'm about to say to you is true. I swear. Just listen to me. Tomorrow, that mountain is going to explode. Evelina, please listen. The air is going to fill with ash and rocks… tons and tons of it. And… this whole town is gonna get buried."

"That's not true."

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but everyone's gonna die. Even if you don't believe me, just tell your family to get out of town… just for one day. Just for tomorrow. But you've got to get out! Just leave Pompeii!"

"This is false prophecy!" Evelina cried, taking her hands away from her eyes, distressed.

"But Rose predicted it. If she's the true oracle, then surely you believe her? Tomorrow Pompeii is going to-"

"Donna!" She was cut off, as Rose came back into the room, wearing a gold toga-like dress. "Donna, what the hell are you doing?!"


	14. Fires of Pompeii, Fire's Footseps

_**Hello! I'm back! I have my new laptop back! Still missing quite a few things from my old one, which makes me sad, but I have ALL my fics.**_

_**I still may get these out annoyingly slow. I now live with my boyfriend in a flat with one of my very good friends, and they both seem to like my attention. But I will do my best not to be distracted from my quest!**_

_**Anyway, a few weeks ago I went to the Armageddon Expo up in Auckland. (It's basically Comic Con for New Zealand and Australia). First time I've been, it was AMAZING! I met lots of new people, like my awesome 'Jack Daniel' (his name's Daniel, he dressed as Captain Jack). And I met someone who knew who I was, THAT was awesome. If you want to take a look, there's some pictures of me dressed as Rose and Fem10 on my Facebook page.**_

_**But, onto the story. Sorry, it's short and unedited, but I hope you enjoy anyway!**_

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**Fire's Footsteps**

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Rose grabbed Donna by the arm and dragged her out of the way. It was clear by the look on the older woman's face she wasn't happy, but neither was Rose.

"Hey! She was almost believing me!" Donna said.

"No she wasn't, she was terrified!" Rose told her. "Honestly, what were you thinking, Donna. We've already told you, if you go about it like that, people will think you're crazy."

"I told her _you_ said it. She said you were an oracle, she had to believe it."

"She is promised to a sisterhood that believe in the prophecies of one woman. They see the fact that they have such clear foresight a gift from the gods, but they don't see that far. Anything that goes against what they see, or what the Sybil saw, is wrong. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Killed?" Donna said.

"We're in Ancient Rome…"

"Good point… But how can you just stand here and do nothing! All these people are going to die. She's only seventeen. She's barely _had_ a life, let alone lived it."

"I _don't_ _like _it Donna. But there's nothing I can do to change it. It's a fixed point in time, which means that no matter what you do, that volcano will always erupt and kill everyone in this city! The only reason we're still here right now is that the Doctor is so damn curious!"

Rose winced as pain shot through her. She had no idea what it was, but she didn't like it. She was getting increasingly more uncomfortable and jumpy. Was it this place?

"You alright?" Donna asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "Look, Donna. I want to help these people, I really do. But I can't. And scaring them isn't going to help."

"Yeah, well, I'd hide this family in the TARDIS if I had to."

Rose smiled at her. "Yeah? Well, if it comes down to it, I'll help you."

**?...DW...?**

The Doctor tried not to wince as he felt the pain go through him. Damn, it was so strong already. He had never remembered it being this bad. He wondered how Rose was doing. He really ought to have told her it was like this… he was just struggling to figure out how to do it.

Instead he focused on what he was doing. He grabbed the next tile and carefully hoisted it up.

"You put this one… there," he said. He grabbed the last one from Quintus. "This one… there. Ugh… keep that one upside down. What have you got?" He turned back to Lucius who'd been standing there quietly for the entire time he'd been rearranging them. It had taken a little talking to convince him to hear him out, rather than kill him on the spot.

"Enlighten me," the pompous man said.

"What? The soothsayer doesn't know?" he grinned, rocking on the balls of his feet.

"The seed may float on the breeze in any direction." Yep, another vague, 'prophetic' line to make the man sound knowable. He didn't like to admit that he had no idea what it is.

"Yeah, I knew you were gonna say that," he said. "But… it's an energy converter."

"An energy converter of what?"

"I don't know," he grinned, swaying about. "Isn't that brilliant. I like not knowing. Keeps me on my toes." He went over to stand beside Lucius, ignoring the man's expression of disgust as he invaded his personal space. "It must be awful being a prophet. Waking up every morning, 'Is it raining? Yes, it is. I said so'. Takes all the fun out of life. But who designed this, Lucius? Hmm? Who gave you these instructions?"

"I think you've babbled long enough!" he snapped.

"Lucius, really, tell me. Honestly, I'm on your side. I can help."

"You insult the Gods!" Lucius cried. "There can only be one sentence. At arms!" A bunch of guards burst in behind him and the Doctor skittered back over to Quintus, taking off his glasses as he went.

"Ooh! Morituri te salutant." Those who are about to die salute you.

"Celtic prayers won't help you now."

"But it was him, sir. He made me do it! Mr Dextrus, please don't," Quintus begged.

"Come on now, Quintus! Dignity in death. I respect your victory, Lucius… Shake on it?" The Doctor held out his hand to the man. "Come on." He wiggled his fingers at the man, like he had to Rose when he had regrown his hand. He had to pause a moment as another strong stab of the almost constant pain overcame him, but he did not let it show on his face. He kept his firm gaze locked with Lucius. "Dying man's wish…"

When it became obvious that Lucius was not going to bite, he made his move. At first, when the man had refused to shake Caecilius's hand, he had thought it was just arrogance. Then he noticed that he never moved the cloak from over his arm. He kept the whole thing hidden and never seemed to movie it.

So the Doctor lunged forward and grabbed the arm beneath. When he felt the rough texture in his grasp, he knew he had been right, and jerked down on it hard, breaking it off. The stone came away and he stepped back with the arm that looked like it could have come off a statue.

"But he's…" Quintus started, but was unable to finish, due to shock.

"Show me," the Doctor said. With a glair, Lucius threw back the cloak to reveal the stump of the stone arm.

"The work of the gods," he said bitterly.

"He's stone!" Quintus finally managed.

"Armless enough, though. Whoop!" He tossed the arm back at Lucius, who then became to preoccupied catching the arm to stop him. He began to run. "Quintus!"

Quintus followed his lead and threw the torch at one of the guards before sprinting off behind him. Quickly the Doctor reached back and sonic-ed the circuit slabs, causing them to fall to the ground and hopefully shatter at least one. If that happened, it would at least delay what ever was happening.

"Out, out, out, out, out!" He pushed Quintus in front of him before jumping out of the window himself. They were followed by the sound of Lucius's outraged cry, but that did not stop them. They just ran. They had to get back to Caecilius's villa _now_. And the sooner the better. He really wanted this pain to stop. "Run!"

.

After running a good few blocks, the Doctor realised that they weren't being perused and stopped a moment. Quintus skidded to a halt beside him, panting slightly.

"No sign of them," he said. "Nice little bit of allons-y. I think we're alright."

"But his arm, Doctor! Is that what's happening to Evelina?" Quintus said.

The Doctor looked at him a second. Rose had told him about Evelina's arm, how it was turning to stone. It was most likely that it was breathing in the vapours that was doing it to them, somehow planting a seed in them and turning them to stone. He could only hope there was a way to reverse it for this family…

No, he couldn't think like that. They lived in Pompeii. Tomorrow Pompeii would be destroyed and them along with it, and there was noting he could do about it.

Just then, there was a loud thumping noise and the ground shook. "What was that?" he asked.

"The mountain?"

No. He knew what an earthquake felt like. This was not that it was something else… "No, it's closer." He noticed that it had a bit of a rhythm to them as he watched baskets and things on the street fall over. And it wasn't just the ground shaking… it was _in_ the ground! "They're footsteps."

"It can't be."

"Footsteps underground!"

"What is it? What is it?" Quintus cried in fear.

"Rose!" the Doctor shouted, realising the direction the footsteps were heading. He put his arm behind Quintus to speed the boy along as he turned and ran. As they ran, steam blew up around them, like geysers as the ground became hot.

He had to get back and stop whatever it was. He had to make sure Rose was okay.

**?...DW...?**

Rose slowly sat up.

She had to admit, she didn't have a very high pain tolerance threshold. And whatever was happening, it really stung. It was like her hearts were slowly being wrenched from her chest. Not long after she and Donna had their little argument, she had felt it worse, coming in little bursts and getting worse every second.

She had been sitting on one of the chases for the last few minutes with her head on her lap, trying to breathe deeply. Donna was panicking, and had gone to look for the Doctor only to find him gone. And Rose couldn't find him either.

It was almost as if she had gone blind. She could feel him, she knew he was there… but she didn't know where. And she couldn't even contact him. She was only able to send her voice into his head if their skin was touching, but she could send emotions and images from afar, she had tried to send him her distress, but it was like there was a block on them. Nothing could get through.

Now she was starting to feel better. The pain in her chest slowly decreasing.

"You feeling better?" Donna asked, rubbing her back.

"Getting there," she said weakly. The feeling was starting to disappear very quickly now.

"You really should tell the Doctor about this."

"I will," she said. "When we find him. Where _is_ he?" Just then they felt faint thumps. An odd echo was in the distance, like thunder… but the booming noise was too close together.

"What was that?" Donna sad. "Oh, god, please don't be the volcano."

"That's not till tomorrow," Rose told her. " But listen… it has a rhythm. What is that?"

"What is that?" Evelina said, coming out of her room. It was the first time that she had talked to them since the incident. "Look at the water!" she said, pointing to the small pool they had in the room. The two women looked to see that it was bubbling with steam rising from it… it was boiling…

"What is it? What's that noise?" Metella said as she and her husband came in.

"It doesn't sound like Vesuvius," Caecilius said.

At that moment, the Doctor and Quintus ran in as the thumping became deafeningly loud. "Caecilius!" he said. "All of you, get out! Rose!" He ran right to her and grabbed her tightly. She heard him breathe a sigh of relief and did the same. She had been so worried with him gone, but now he was here, and she could feel him again. She could feel his emotions racing through their bond. The relief, the fear, the guilt.

"Doctor, what is it?" Donna said.

"I think we're being followed." They all ducked as the grille over the hypocaust blew into the air as a geyser of steam shot from it. "Just get out!"

A loud growling was heard and they all froze. No one moved as they watched the hypocaust crack and be smashed up from underneath. They could only watch as a large creature of stone and magma forced it's way through the hole it make, shrugging way the debris.

"The gods are with us," Evelina said fearfully.

The Doctor looked at her. He almost wished they knew better. This was no god. It was a creature of fire… Fire. Right. "Water! We need water. Quintus, Rose, all of you. Get water! Donna!"

He kept his eyes trained on the creature as the three of them left the room to get something to carry water in. he didn't even notice as one of the servants walked forward in wonder.

"Blessed are we to see the gods!" he said in awe. And with no other provocation, the creature opened its fiery maw and incinerated the man. The Doctor didn't really know what to do. He could only stall for time until someone came with water. He was usually very good at stalling people. But it had just killed for no reason.

What was the likelihood that he would be able to reason with it? It was worth a try anyway.

"Talk to me!" he shouted at it, carefully getting closer with his hands in the air. "That's all I want. Talk to me. Tell me who you are. Don't hurt these people." He felt a sudden jolt of surprise and fear from Rose, but he didn't have time to look at her considering he was a little preoccupied with the creature that was roaring at him. He couldn't afford to lose eye contact with it. "Talk to me. I'm the Doctor. Tell me who you are."

The creature refused to listen. It opened it's mouth, ready to kill him. Then, before anything else could happen, Quintus quickly dashed in with a large pot, scooped some water from the pool and chucked it at the creature.

It growled and hissed as it looked at its hand a second. Then, as it moved, the fire began to fade from it. It began to turn cold and then it fell to the ground and shattered, causing everyone to jump back.

"What was it?" Caecilius said as the dust cleared.

"A carapace of stone. Held together by internal magma. Not too difficult to stop, but I reckon that's just the foot soldier."

"Doctor, or whatever your name is," Metella said, casing him to turn. "You bring bad luck in this house."

Oh, he was almost sick of these people's superstition. It was utterly brilliant, but it was really starting to get on his nerves. "I thought your son was brilliant," he said. "Aren't you going to thank him?"

It seemed that reminder made her realise exactly what had happened and what was important, and in the next second, Quintus was in her arms.

"Still… if there are aliens at work in Pompeii, it's a good thing we stayed, right Rose?" No reply. "Rose!" he called a little louder, figuring she was off in another room… for… some… reason… He turned to see that she had not popped out from anywhere, and Donna was nowhere to be seen either. "Donna?! Rose?!"

Now that most of the adrenalin had calmed down, he was able to feel things that he hadn't in the heat of the moment. Like for one, once again, he could not sense Rose… not like he usually could. And that horrible nagging pain was back again, like his hearts were being pulled from his chest…

Oh shit.


	15. Fires of Pompeii, Blood and Breath

**Blood and Breath**

.

Rose looked about at the red robed sisters in annoyance. And it was obvious that Donna shared her views.

"You have got to be kidding me," Donna said.

Oh yes, because she could talk… No, really, she could. For some reason _she_ had been gagged, and Donna hadn't! And let's face it, Donna was the one making more noise anyway.

And now, the two woman lay there, tied to a large stone table, the red robed sisters around them, the leader holding a dagger above them. And to top it off, that horrible pain ad come back not long after she was taken. At least it was starting to fade. There was nothing she could do to help, not even talk her way out... God, she wished the Doctor was there.

"The false prophet and her preacher will surrender both their blood and their breath!" the leader cried, holding the knife high.

"Preacher!" Donna said, sounding highly offended. "I'll surrender you in a minute. Don't you dare!"

"You will be silent," she snapped.

"You might have eyes on the back of your hands you'll have eyes in the back of your head by the time I finish with you! Let us GO!"

"You shall die before your prophet. This prattling will cease forever!" She raised the dagger over her head once more, preparing to plunge it down into Donna's chest.

"Oh, that will be the day," the Doctor's voice came from behind them, making everyone whip around to face him. He was leaning casually just off to the side. Rose would have smiled if she didn't have a strip of cloth stiffed in her mouth.

"No man is allowed to enter the Temple of Sybil!"

"Oh, that's alright. Just us girls." The Doctor shrugged cheekily and started walking towards us. "Do you know, I met the Sybil once. Hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance the tarantella. Nice teeth. Truth be told, I think she had a bit of a thing for me."

"Effy-oh huf a fii fi oo," Rose said through the gag. All the Sisters looked at her, almost in fear. Only the Doctor knew what she meant and as he got the gist of it through their bond. 'Everyone has a thing for you'. He smirked at her.

"I said it would never work. She said, 'I know'. Well, _she_ would." He stopped at the head of the alter and looked down at the two women tied there. "You two alright there?" Rose shot him a death glare.

"Oh, never better," Donna said sarcastically.

"I like the toga, Sweetie… Yours too, Donna," he grinned.

"Weh-he? Aww, aa o hwee…" Rose tried to say in a sweet voice. Then suddenly she jerked at her bonds and started shouting. "Ow, uff heh he uh uf ha!"

"Sorry, I couldn't quite hear that… You know, you look pretty good in those ropes too." More death glairs.

"Oh, keep it in your pants, Spaceman!" Donna cried. "You can do that later. Just bloody well get us out!" Rose nodded her agreement.

"Okay, okay," he said. He pulled the Sonic Screwdriver from his pocket and used it on the ropes. Rose gratefully used the freedom of her hands to take the gag off. She sat there a moment just playing around with her mouth. It had been dried out from the cloth that had been shoved in there… a cloth that tasted _terrible_ to her advanced taste buds.

"What magic is this?" the leader said, looking fearfully at the Sonic. The Doctor ignored the question and flipped the Sonic in the air before putting it back in his pocket.

"Let me tell you about the Sybil," the Doctor said, leaning against the later. "The founder of this religion. She would be ashamed of you. All her wisdom and insight turned sour. Is that how you spread the word, eh? On the blade of a knife?"

"Yes. A knife that now welcomes you!" She raised the knife high, but was stopped when a hand swung round and hit her in the face.

"Don't you bloody well dare!" Rose hissed. "You try to kill me, my partner, my friend! Just because we know something you can't see? What the hell is wrong with you!"

"You have such strong sight, but it is unnatural, and wrong. It is evil. And it shall be destroyed." She raised the knife again, this time at Rose.

"Wait," a frail voice said from somewhere behind a curtain. "Show me this man, and his prophet." All the sisters turned and kneeled facing the curtains as she spoke.

"High Priestess, the strangers would defy us!"

"Let me see, Spurrina. They are different. They carry starlight in their wake."

"Oh, very perceptive." The Doctor said, leading Rose and Donna closer to the curtain. "Where do these words of wisdom come from?"

"The gods whisper to me."

"Oh, they've done far more than that. Might I beg audience, look upon the High Priestess?"

Silently, the two sisters next to the bed parted the curtain.

"Oh my god!" Rose gasped in horror at the sight.

"Hoy crap! What happened to you?" Donna said. The High Priestess sat cross legged on her bed, her skin had turned entirely to stone. Living stone… almost like those other creatures.

"The heavens have blessed me," she rasped.

"If I might…?" the Doctor gestured to her, asking permission to go forward and look at it. The slight sound of stone rubbing stone was heard and the high priestess held her hand out to him. He stepped closer and held her hand delicately in his, testing pressure against it. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

"It is necessary."

"Say's who?!" Rose cried, aghast. She couldn't understand going through that just to see the future. A thing better left unknown.

"The Voices. But you know this, don't you? Do you not pay a price to see the future?"

Rose looked down at the ground. Yes. Yes, she did pay a price. Seeing through the veil of the Time Vortex was painful, but it was nothing like this.

"Is that what's happening to Evelina?" Donna said, turning around to the rest of the sisters. "Is this going to happen to all of you?"

Spurrina walked forward, her arm raised out, baring the stone flesh for them to see. "The blessings are manifold."

"They're stone," Donna whispered.

"All of them," Rose said. "They're all turning to stone, just so they can have foresight… Are you all bonkers?!"

"But who's giving them the foresight?" the Doctor mused. "The people of Pompeii are turning to stone _before_ the volcano erupts. But why?"

"This word… This image in your mind. This… 'volcano'. What is it?"

"More to the point, why don't you know about it?"

"It's a fixed point in time. If I tried, I could see every possible way things could change, and it would still happen," Rose said. This caused the Doctor to look at her oddly. She was always dropping odd little things he didn't know she would do. Just how far had this change gone?

"Exactly," he said, shaking it off. "Who are you?"

"High Priestess of the Sibyline," she replied proudly.

"No, no, no, no. I'm talking to the creature inside of you. The thing that's seeding itself into a human body, in the dust, in the lungs… Taking over the flesh and turning it into… what?"

"Your knowledge… is impossible," she rasped.

"Oh, but you can read my mind. You know it's not. I demand you tell me who you are!"

Suddenly something changed about the woman. And when she spoke, it was echoed by a deep voice. "_We… are… awakening_!"

"The voice of the gods!" Spurrina gasped loudly.

The sisters around them began to rock and chant. "Words of wisdom, words of power. Words of wisdom, words of power." Over and over again.

"Name yourself!" the Doctor shouted. "Planet of origin, galactic co-ordinates, species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow proclamation."

"_We… are… rising_!"

"Tell me your name!" the Doctor bellowed.

The High Priestess threw off her hood and spread her arms wide. "_Pyrovile_!" she shouted.

At this, the sisters began chanting out the name. They looked rather freaky, with their strange black and white make up.

"What's a Pyrovile?" Donna asked.

"If I had to guess, I would say that thing that attacked us back at the villa," Rose said.

"Yup," the Doctor said. "And that's a Pyrovile, too… growing inside her. She's at the half way stage."

"How does it do that?" Rose asked. "Change a person into that."

"They are more or less rock and magma. It's possible for them to break apart. The Soothsayers of Pompeii were breathing in fragments of them when they wanted to see. Then the Pyrovile was inside their body and started seeding, and converting them. They are, all of them, slowly becoming adult Pyroviles."

"_And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor_!" The High Priestess shouted, pointing at him.

"I warn you, I'm armed," the Doctor said. And, to Rose's surprise she reached into his pocket and pulled out… a water gun. That had her for a second. "Rose, Donna, get that grille open.

"What the…" Donna said, looking at the water gun in confusion. Rose just grinned at the ridiculous sight. She never thought she'd see him wield _any_ sort of gun. Looks like she was wrong.

"Just…" He jerked his head to the spot and Rose and Donna sped to the hypocaust. Then he aimed the gun at the High Priestess. "What are the Pyrovile doing here?"

"_We fell from the heavens. We fell so far and fast, we were rendered into dust_."

"Right. Creatures of stone shatter on impact. When was that, seventeen years ago?"

"_We have slept beneath for thousands of years_."

"Okay, so seventeen years ago woke you up, and now you're using human bodies to reconstitute yourself. But why the psychic powers?"

"_We opened their minds and found such gifts_!"

"Yeah, okay fine. You force yourself inside a human brain, use the latent psychic talent to bond. I get that. I get that. Yeah, but… seeing the future, that is way beyond psychic, you can see through time. Where does the gift of prophecy come from?"

Off to the side, Donna and Rose struggled to pull off the great. Finally, Rose found the sonic pen she had hidden in her dress and used it on the metal, loosening it enough for them to pull it up.

"We got it!" Donna cried.

"Now get down," he ordered.

"What, down there?"

"But it's sweltering!" Rose gasped. She still didn't understand how he could handle such hot climates when they had the same body temperature.

"Yes, down there," he said, moving towards them, gun still aimed. "Why can't this lot predict the volcano? Why is it being hidden?"

"Sisters!" Spurrina cried. "I see into his mind. The weapon is harmless."

"Well, yeah… but it's got to sting!" Then he sprayed it at the High Priestess who moaned in pain. "Get down there!" he cried at Rose and Donna. The two woman dropped through the opening, followed by the Doctor.

.

When they dropped down, they were in a boiling hot rock tunnel. The fire around them made it glow red.

"You fought her off, with a water pistol!" Donna cried. "I bloody love you!"

"How do you think I feel!" Rose laughed.

"This way," the Doctor said.

"So where are we going?" Rose said.

"Into the volcano," he replied.

"No way," Donna groaned.

"Yes way," he said cheerfully, twirling the gun around his finger. "Appian way!" He was having too much fun with this Latin thing.

"Honestly," Rose sniggered. "Did you expect something different?" The she stopped a moment to fan herself. She didn't know how long she would last down here.

* * *

><p><strong>?…DW…?<strong>

* * *

><p>"But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it alright for you to stop it?" Donna persisted as they made their way through the tunnels of Vesuvius.<p>

"Still part of history," the Doctor said.

"Well, I'm history to you. You saved me in 2008. You saved us all.-"

"It's not the same," Rose said.

"Why is that different?"

"Some things are fixed, some things are in flux," he explained. "Pompeii is fixed."

"How do you know which is which?"

The Doctor stopped and turned around to face them. He knew Rose somewhat understood what was happening. He knew that she could feel it, and she was smart and had put pieces together. She didn't _know_ like he did.

"Because that's how we see the universe. Me and Rose. Every waking second, we can see what is, what was… what could be, what must not. That's the burden of the Time Lord, Donna. And I was the only one left. And then it was forced onto Rose. Most of us had hundreds of years in the Academy to learn what everything means, and she's just guessing. Very well, I might add. But this place… we can't do _anything_."

He turned and kept walking, leaving a stunned Rose and an angry Donna.

"How many people died?"

"Donna!" Rose warned.

At the same time the Doctor growled, "stop it!"

"Doctor!" He stopped and turned. "How many people died."

"Twenty thousand," he said darkly.

"Is that what you two can see? All twenty thousand? And you think that's alright-?"

"Of course it isn't!" Rose cried, sick of what Donna was doing to the Doctor. She could feel the guilt coming from him in floods through her mind. "We don't like this, Donna, but there is nothing we can do to stop it. We can't exactly _see_ all of this, but we can feel it. It hurts. I just want to turn and run from this place, because no matter how I try to think of a way to change the outcome, every path hurts. Every path leads to so, so many deaths. It's Pompeii or the world."

"Wait, what?" the Doctor said, surprised at that last part.

"What do you mean Pompeii or the world?" Donna asked fearfully.

Rose shook her head. She didn't truly know where that statement had come from. "I… I've been trying to think of a way to stop this since we were stuck. But when I think of Pompeii not erupting… it hurts more. Like things would get worse."

Suddenly there was a screech from somewhere down the tunnel and their heads shot in that direction.

"They know we're here," he cried. "Come on." With one hand he grabbed Rose's, and with the other he pushed Donna along. Then, they turned and ran.

Further into the heart of Vesuvius.

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><p><em><strong>Hello! Sorry it's been so long updating this one. Turns out I am even more easily distracted than I thought I was. I'm actually do that now.<strong>_

_**Me and my boyfriend, Matt, are moving out of this messy flat we're in now, and moving in with his best friend. The flat is smaller, cleaner, less people (there will only be the three of us) and nicer. The point is, that right now, I am meant to be packing right now, so that we can move tomorrow. But I can't keep working that long (especially not on my days off), so I decided to write. It was meant to be a 10 minute break, it's turned into an hour, 20.**_

_**So, I also have a few chapters of other stories done, I'll try and post those too.**_

_**Hope everyone's having a fun christmas!**_


	16. Fires of Pompeii, Pompeii or the World

_**Hey! Sorry it's been SOOOOO long. If the other month was hectic, then this month was Chaos! Working way too much, 3 Doctors appointments, new glasses (which still haven't arrived yet =c ), my 20**__**th**__** birthday (31**__**st**__** Jan), and I got rushed to the hospital in an ambulence in immence pain because of my back, and ended up waiting there on morphine for 6 hours with nothing to do, and no notebook to write in. It was a total of 4 needles in my arm over two weeks. And I'm PETRIFIED of needles!**_

_**But anyway, enough wining. I know you've all been waiting so long for this, so go ahead. (Oh, I decieded to look up tags of me on tumblr, there were a few, which was more than I thought there would be. I liked them all and even followed someone. I love you all out there. If you do have a tumblr, look me up, I'd love to hear for you. It was just so incredible seeing people telling others to read my work, giving me shout outs, and quoting my stories with gifs that scream 'I love you'. You are all INCREDIBLE and I love you all so much. You make every day happer for me (and that's a hard thing to do, since I'm already overly optimistic =D)).**_

* * *

><p>.<p>

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.

**Pompeii or the World**

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The three travellers snuck through the glowing red caves of Vesuvius. Finally they came to a large open cavern where there were many Pyrovile walking around. They hid behind a rock, and Rose collapsed onto it, trying not to gasp so loudly. She really couldn't stand this heat.

"It's okay, Rose," the Doctor said. "Breath. Just relax."

"But it's so hot… how the hell are you okay with this?!" she cried, trying hard to keep her voice at a whisper.

"Because I was _taught_ a lot of things at the Academy. How our minds and bodies work, and how to control it. Bugger, I really need to take some time out to teach you."

"Why haven't you started then?"

"Because I'm an idiot, and seem to forget a lot of things. I mean, heck, Rose, I forgot to test you to see if you were alright after Satellite 5, and I ignored or forgot all the signs about what was happening to you after."

"Brain's trying to focus on too many other things, right?" she guessed.

"Yup, it can get annoying."

"I've noticed. So, how do I cool down?"

"Same way a human would. Relax, and let your body adjust to the temperature. Takes a little practice, but you'll get it soon."

"Oi, where are we now?" Donna put in.

"It's the heart of Vesuvius," the Doctor replied. "We're right inside the mountain."

"There's tones of them," Donna gasped, looking about at the Pyroviles.

"Look, they've even made structures and everything." Rose pointed off to the far side, where the they could see paths and pillars carved into the rock.

"What's that thing?" the Doctor said as he spotted something that didn't quite fit the architecture of the structures Rose had spotted. He pulled out a small collapsible telescope to see that the rock was almost like it had a door, inside you could see circuitry.

"Well, you better hurry up and think of something," Donna said. "Rocky IV's on it's way."

"That's how they arrived," the Doctor said. "Or what's left of it. Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?" He collapsed the telescope.

"But why do they need the volcano?" Rose said. "I mean, it's the best place for them to hide, since they're fire creatures. But what? Are they stopping he volcano from blowing? Making it blow? What do they want here? The volcano wouldn't have enough force to blast the pod back to space, it would only get them out of the volcano. And trust me, if they can carve those structures, they can tunnel out if they want."

"I think they already have. And you're right, they wouldn't be able to use the volcano for that… What are they doing? They don't want to escape… it's worse than that."

"How can it be worse?" Donna hissed. A Pyrovile roared and her eyes widened. "Doctor, it's getting closer."

"Heathens!" Lucius's voice cried out, and their heads snapped towards him. He had just appeared from nowhere. "Defilers! They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods!"

"Come on!" the Doctor cried. He grabbed both women by the hands and led them towards the aliens.

"What, down there?" Rose cried.

"We can't go in!" Donna said.

"We can't go back!"

"Crush them! Burn them!" Lucius was shouting at the roaring Pyroviles.

They stopped suddenly when a Pyrovile rose up in front of them. The Doctor fired his water gun at them, giving them time to run past it. They got to the door of the pod before they stopped.

"There is nowhere to run Doctor and Daughters of Time and London!"

"Now then, Lucius, my lord Pyrovillian… don't get yourselves in a lava." He looked at the other two. "In a lava… no?"

"No," Donna shook her dead.

"Doesn't quite work," Rose told him.

"Darn… But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish… once this new race of creatures is complete… then what?"

A Pyrovile moved past Lucius towards them as the man spoke. "My masters will follow the example of Rome itself, an almighty empire bestriding the whole civilization."

"But, if you've crashed, and you've got all this technology. Why don't you just go home?" Donna asked. None of them noticed Rose slipping into the doorway pod.

"The heaven of Pyrovillia is gone."

"What do you mean 'gone'? Where's it gone?" he said, perplexed.

"It was taken. Pyrivillia is lost. But there is heat enough in this world for a new species to rise.

"Like that will work," Rose scoffed, sneaking into the pod.

"Like she said. I should warn you, it's 70% water out there."

"Water can boil and everything will burn, Doctor!"

"Then…" He turned to see Rose sitting on a shelf in the pod. "The whole planet is at stake. Thank you, that's all I needed to know. Donna!" He pushed her into the pod, and followed her in, using the sonic screwdriver on the door.

Once they were in, they stood looking at the circuit board in the pod.

"Could we be any more tapped?" Donna muttered.

"Yes," Rose gasped. Suddenly the heat in the pod went up dramatically.

"Phew… Little bit hot."

"Try being me," Rose said, leaning heavily against the wall. "_Don't worry, you'll get used to it_!" she mocked the Doctor.

"I didn't say right away," the Doctor said. "But see, the energy converted takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix, which wields Pyrovile to human. Now it's complete, they can convert millions."

"Well, can't you change it… with these controls?"

"'Course I can, but don't you see? That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're gonna use it to take over the world."

"Can't you change it back?" Rose said.

"Well, I can invert the system, so the volcano will blow them up, yes, but… that's the choice, Donna. It's Pompeii or the world."

"Oh my god!" Donna said in horror.

"If Pompeii is destroyed, then it's not just history, it's me. I make it happen."

"Doctor," Rose said as strongly as she could. "It's not just you. You know as well as I do that one way or another this will always happen. And it isn't us doing it, something else will, whether it's nature or something else. Fixed point remember."

The Doctor shot her a weak smile before he began to work on the pod.

"But the Pyrovile are made of rock. Maybe they can't be blown up," Donna panicked, searching for reasons they shouldn't do this.

"Vesuvius explodes with the force of 24 nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it." He stopped and looked at the two women. "Certainly not us."

"Never mind us," Donna said.

"Yeah, we've survived worse before," Rose said.

"Push this lever and it's all over," the Doctor said, a look of shock and horror on his face. "Twenty thousand people…"

Donna placed her hand over top of his. Rose, struggling to stand up from her seat, joined them and put her hand on the lever too. Then the three of them pushed down.

There was a huge jolt. The noise around them was deafening, and the temperature in the pod got even hotter. And suddenly, they were being thrown about. They tumbled and fell and tried not to crash into each other as it felt like the pod was torpedoing around.

Finally, they stopped with a huge crash. Most were winded, especially the Doctor, since Rose had landed on top of him. They recovered quickly and stumbled out of the pod.

"It was an escape pod," the Doctor said, looking back at it. That was when he noticed the huge, black, billowing cloud rushing towards them. "Come on! Run!" he grabbed both of the women by their hand and ran, trying to help them run faster.

Soon, the ash blocked out the sun, and the land fell under a shadow darker than night. They ran as fast as they could, till they finally reached the village. People were running around in a frenzy, panicking and running to what they thought was safety.

"Don't!" Donna cried at them, seeing where they were running. "Don't go to the beach, go to the hills! Listen to me! Don't go to the beach, it's not safe! Listen to me…!"

People ran past her and ignored her. Rose and the Doctor watched on sadly, knowing nothing she did could make any difference. To these people, if something bad was happening, they would always go to the safety of the beach.

Seeing a lone child, crying, Donna ran up to the boy. "Come here," she coaxed.

"Give him to me!" a woman cried, snatching him away.

Tears ran down Donna's cheeks as she looked up at the two Time Lords. Rose also had tears in her eyes and the Doctor wore a forlorn expression.

"Come on," he said. He took Rose's hand again and led them to Caecilius's Villa. When they reached there, the family were huddled up together, sobbing in the corner.

Caecilius looked up as they entered. "Gods! Save us, Doctor!" he cried.

The Doctor looked at them with a dark expression for a moment, before turning and hurrying into the TARDIS.

"Doctor!" Rose cried aghast.

"No!" Donna cried at him. "Doctor, you can't!"

Rose looked from the TARDIS, back to the family. Then she went over to them and helped Caecilius to his feet. "Donna, come on," she called. Donna took the hint and ran over, then began helping Rose get the family to their feet. "This way, to the blue box!" she directed.

They all stumbled over, and Rose opened the door. She staggered in, followed by the family, and then Donna, who slammed the door behind them. As soon as they were inside, it seemed as if all the turmoil out those doors, ceased to exist. They were in a bubble of calm… but they knew that would not last long.

"What?!" the Doctor cried as he looked up and saw them all. "Rose, what are you doing?"

"They're coming with us," she said stubbornly.

"No, they can't they're part of Pompeii. Don't you think we've done enough damage-"

"They are not part of Pompeii!" she cut over him. "Are they fixed to the land? No. They lived there. Taking _one_ family away. _Saving_ one family will not change anything."

"Really, what makes you so sure?"

"Because it doesn't hurt. Who says that history will miss one family. It's the event, not the number of people that is set in stone. We can save _someone_! They can go away, live their lives. They _helped_ us, Doctor. We can't just leave them!" The Doctor stood at the console, toying with one of the buttons, his guilt eating at him. "Besides, how does everyone find out what happened if no one survived?"

The Doctor sighed and looked up at the ash dirtied family who were gazing around the TARDIS in fear and awe. Rose was right. There was no law set in stone saying that everyone who lived in Pompeii had to die. He had the power to save some of them… and if he could, then he would.

"Right then," he said, his tone almost as happy as normal. "Rome it is. Don't worry, Caecilius, we'll drop you off and your family can start anew there. All safe and sound."

"But I don't understand, Doctor," Caecilius said. "What is happening? What was happening to our city? I want to know."

The Doctor looked at him with a sad look. "Alright then," he said quietly. He adjusted a few settings on the console, then sent them off. It only took a few seconds for the TARDIS to land, and he gestured to the doors.

Evelina was the first out, clearly freaked out by the bigger on the inside ship. What she saw when she got out freaked her out even more. They were no longer in her fathers villa, they now stood on top of the hills, looking down on Pompeii.

"Mother!" she cried in distress.

The rest of the family all came running out and they all froze at what they saw. Rose took the Doctor's hand, and they slowly followed out. It was still dark as night, and in the distance they could see the fires of Mount Vesuvius. From the mountain spewed a dark cloud, that flowed down the hills and was covering the city. They looked at the family, staring out at their desolated city.

"It's never forgotten, Caecilius," the Doctor told him softly. "Oh, time will pass, men will move on, and stories will fade, but one day… Pompeii will be found again… in thousands of years… and everyone will remember you."

"What about you, Evelina? Can you see anything?" Donna asked her.

"The visions have gone," she replied.

"The explosion was so powerful it cracked open a right in time. Just for a second. That's why gave you the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alterative. But not anymore. You're free," the Doctor told her.

"But, tell me… who are you, Doctor?" Metella asked. "With your words… and your temple containing such size within…"

"Oh, we were never here. Don't tell anyone," he replied stepping back.

"Look," Rose said quietly. "I know that you've lost a lot, and nothing could ever make up for that, but here." She handed Caecilius a small bag that jingled when he took it. "This can help you start a new life."

He opened the purse to see the glinting of gold. "Thank you," he whispered. He then turned back to the mountain that was destroying their home. "The great god Vulcan must be _enraged_! It's so volcanic. It's like some sort of… volcano." A tear slowly trailed down his face. "All those people," he said, his voice breaking. He hugged his wife to him, and behind them Qunitus took Evelina's hand.

And unseen Rose, Donna, and the Doctor, slipped back inside the TARDIS.

.

"Thank you," Rose said, once they were inside.

"It was you who did all the saving," the Doctor told her.

"Yeah, but if it weren't for you, they all would have died anyway," Donna said softly.

"Yeah." He nodded his head as if convincing himself. "So, how did you like your first trip?"

"Well, I can't say I _loved_ it… but, I loved it," she smiled.

The Doctor grinned. "Welcome aboard!"

"Yeah." The three of them smiled at each other before their eyes fell on the console. Who knew where they were off to next.


	17. Planet of the Ood, Real Snow

_**Hey! Here's the next chapter. I'm trying to get more original lines for Rose in by adding new little situations. I love the dynamic the Doctor and Donna have. They're like quirky siblings. And it would be a shame to let Rose cut in on that, but I also can't let her fade to the background. So, let's see how this goes, shall we?**_

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><p>.<p>

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***Planet of the Ood***

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**Real Snow**

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The occupants of the TARDIS cheered and squealed as they were rocked and bumped about, nearly being thrown off the platform. Finally they materialized and the rocking settled down. The three of them cracked up laughing as they lent against the console.

"Ooh! Where are we now?" Donna asked excitedly.

"Don't even bother," Rose laughed. "He never tells you until you're out there… especially if you're new."

"Doesn't matter anyway," the Doctor said, dancing away from the console. "Set the controls to random! Mystery tour. Outside that door could be any planet, anywhere, anywhen in the wide uni- Are you alright?" He paused noticing Donna's excited, yet anxious expression being cast in every direction.

"Terrified!" she told him ecstatically "I mean, history's one thing, but an alien planet…"

"Tell me about it," Rose grinned. "My first trip in the TARDIS, this one took me to a platform with dozens of different species, to watch the world blow up."

"B-blow up…?"

"Aww, I could always take you home," the Doctor teased.

"Yeah, don't laugh at me. And that goes for the both of ya!"

"We know what it's like." He walked around towards her. "Everything you're feeling now. The fear, the joy, the wonder. I get that! Half the places I go are just to see her feel like that!" He jerked his thumb at Rose.

"Seriously? After all this time?" Donna's voice rose a few octaves higher than it already was.

"Yeah! Why do you think I keep going?" The Doctor's pitch matched hers.

"Aww!" Donna squee'd, clenching her fists up in excitement. The two of them stood almost face to face, with giant grins.

"Oh dear, what did I get my self into?" Rose smiled seeing the two of them. "You two are just an adorkable pair, aren't you."

"Adorkable?" The Doctor squeaked in protest. "Rose, have you looked in the mirror at all in the last four years?"

"Ha! That from you?!" Donna laughed at him. "Sorry mate, I think you win that title." She looked back at the door. "Alright, what are we waiting for? This is barmy!" The Doctor and Rose grinned at each other as he threw on his coat, and they watched her walk to the door, then turn back to them. "I was born in Chiswick. I've only ever done package holidays. Now I'm here. This is… It's not… I mean, it's… I don't know! It's all sort of…" She struggled with what she was saying before she broke into a huge grin. "I don't even know what the word is!"

Then she turned, and strode out the door.

"Picked a good one this time, didn't we?" Rose said.

"Oh yes!" the Doctor replied. "And she seems _a lot_ happier than last Christmas. Nice seeing her like this."

"I feel sorry for the TARDIS."

"…Why?" he said in confusion.

"Now she has to put up with _three_ hyperactive loons." The two of them looked at each other and cracked up laughing.

"Come on." The Doctor placed his hand on her lower back and led her out the door. When she stepped out, the temperature dropped dramatically, and they were met my a sight of brilliant white. "Snow!" he cried in delight. "Ah! Real snow! Proper snow at last!"

"It's about time. Aww, this is amazing!" Rose threw her arms wide.

"That's more like it. Lovely. What do you think?" the Doctor asked Donna. Then he noticed her look of annoyance.

"Bit cold," she said, shivering.

"Look at the view!" he said, looking out on the icy landscape of mountains and wide open spaces, giant arches of stone that stood like bridges, and the moon and ringed planet in the sky.

"Yep. A beautiful _cold_ view."

"Millions of planets, millions of galaxies and we're on this one. Molto bene! 'Belissimo!' Says Donna, born in Chiswick." Too consumed by the view and wonder of it all, he wandered forward slightly, away from his two companions, as he carried on. "You've had a life of work and sleep, telly and rent, takeaway dinners, birthdays and Christmases, and two weeks holiday a year and then you end up here! Donna Noble, citizen of the Earth, standing on a different planet. How about that, Donna?" He looked around but couldn't see her. Even Rose was out of sight. "Donna?"

The door of the TARDIS opened again, and Donna stepped out wrapped in a big fluffy coat, the hood up already.

"Sorry, you were saying?"

"Better?" he asked her.

"Lovely. Thanks."

"Comfy?"

"Yep.

"Can you even hear anything inside that?"

Donna paused. "Pardon?" she teased. A giggle came from the ground, and they both looked down to see that Rose was lying on the snow, hidden by a slight rise in the land. "Erm… Rose… are you making a snow angel?"

"Well, yeah. Last time I checked, snow doesn't move and attack you. So, an angel should be fine this time… Ooh! How about a snowman!"

"But, ain't you cold?"

"No."

"You're in a _summer dress_. You look like you're dressed for Hawaii!"

"Oh, stop being so dramatic." She jumped up and dusted herself off. "It's just a normal dress. Trust me, if I were dressed for Hawaii, I'd be wearing a bikini. Besides, I can handle the cold."

Right then, a rocket flew over top of them, distracting Donna from her reply momentarily.

"A rocket! Blimey, a real, proper rocket. Now that's what I call a spaceship." She slapped the Doctor on the arm. "You've got a box, he's got a Ferrari! Come on, let's see where he's going." She began to walk off in the same direction, leaving behind a stunned Doctor and Rose.

"I'm not sure if I should be offended, or cracking up remembering you comparing the TARDIS to a sports car once," Rose said.

The Doctor shrugged, perplexed, grabbed her hand, and started off after Donna before they lost her. And a lost Donna, would not be a good thing. He didn't really want to test his theory.

"What's that noise anyway?" Rose asked him.

"I don't hear anything." Rose looked at him out of the corner of her eye. It was a faint noise… maybe he was getting too old, and is hearing was getting worse or something. She just shrugged and carried on.

* * *

><p><strong>?…DW…?<strong>

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><p>As the three of them walked through the landscape, laughing, the Doctor suddenly came to a stop. "Hold on, can you hear that?" he asked. "Donna, take your hood down."<p>

As Donna lowered her hood, he listened harder. It was… a song. A type of song… Actually, it was the same tune that Rose had been humming for the last three minutes.

"Oh, now he hears it," Rose muttered.

"What?" Donna asked.

"Over there!" he suddenly shouted, spotting something dark against the snow. He ran towards it, the two women running after him. In seconds they reached the dark spot. It was an alien, an Ood, half buried in the snow. He was obviously injured.

"What is it?" Donna asked as she ran up. Rose knelt beside the Doctor, who was already putting his stethoscope in his ears.

"An Ood. He's called an Ood."

"But its face…"

"Donna, not now. It's a 'he', not an 'it'. Give me and Rose a hand."

"Sorry," she mumbled, kneeling on the other side of the Ood.

"Hey," Rose said softly to the Ood, taking his hand. "It's going to be alright."

The Doctor was moving the stethoscope around in confusion. I don't know where the heart is. I don't know if he's _got_ a heart! Talk to him. Keep him going."

"It's alright, We've got you," Donna said calmly. "Um… what's your name?"

The translator ball lit up, and the Ood turned it's head towards her. "Designated Ood Delta 50."

"What kind of name is that?" Donna muttered, slightly baffled and horrified.

"They all have names like that… Like they come just one after the other. No proper name or personality… all the same…" Rose said, remembering back to a certain sanctuary base on an impossible planet.

"Well, my name's Donna," she said, picking up the translator ball and speaking into it. Rose almost giggled, but the sadness of what was happening before her held it at bay.

"No, no, no, no. You don't need to," the Doctor said, gently making her put the ball down.

"Sorry. Oh god. This is the Doctor. Just what you need. A Doctor. Couldn't be better, eh?"

"You've been shot," The Doctor said.

"Shot?!" Rose said, astounded. "Why would anyone shoot an Ood? They're meant to be peaceful… benign."

"The circle…" Delta 50 tried to say.

"No, don't try to talk," Donna interrupted when it struggled to finish, but he didn't listen.

"The circle must be broken," he said faintly.

"The circle?" the Doctor said, instantly curious. "What do you mean? Delta 50, what circle? Delta 50? What circle?

Slowly Delta 50 turned his head towards the Doctor, his eyes closed in pain. He let out a small growl, and when they snapped opened, his eyes were red. Rose squealed and got back as fast as she could, just slightly faster than the Doctor, who dragged Donna back with him.

Growling, the Ood sat up, then collapsed backwards. Dead.

"He's gone," Donna said sadly. She started to walk over to him.

"Careful," the Doctor warned, attempting to hold her back a second. From the opposite side of the body, Rose looked at him in panic. She liked Ood. Don't get her wrong… but red eye Ood?

"There you are, sweetheart," Dona said sympathetically. "We were too late. What so we do, do we bury him?" She looked up to see a terrified Rose, shaking her head and slowly backing away. She wasn't going to go near that thing.

"The snow will take care of that," the Doctor said darkly.

"Who was he? What's an Ood?"

"They're servants of humans in the 42nd century-"

"Slaves," Rose interrupted. "Danny called them a 'slave race'."

"They - they're um, mildly telepathic, that was the song. It was his mind calling out."

"I didn't hear anything," Donna said sadly, standing up. "He sang as he was dying."

"His eyes turned red," he said darkly.

"What does that mean?"

"Something really, really bad," Rose said.

"Come on," the Doctor said, walking off. Rose went too and clung to his hand.

"Wait," Donna cried, running to catch up. "How is its eyes going red 'really bad'?"

"The Ood are harmless and completely benign," the Doctor told her. "Except last time we met them, there was this force, like a stronger mind, powerful enough to take them over."

"What sort of force?"

"Ah, long story."

"Long walk," she countered.

"It was the devil," he replied.

"If you're gonna take the mickey, I'll just put my hood back up."

"He's not joking," Rose said. "We were tapped on this planet called Krop Tor. It was this planet that was impossibly orbiting a black hole, without falling in. The Ood started… saying strange things. And after the Doctor got trapped down inside the planet, they started killing. Completely controlled. They kept taking about the devil and the beast. The devil had taken over one of the crew, and the body was down with the Doctor… It was horrible."

"Yeah, but it must be something different this time," the Doctor said. "This has got to be sometime under a century after Krop Tor. It has to be something closer to home." They climbed up a little hill, and a building came into sight. "Aha! Civilization!"

And with a grin, they started off towards it.

* * *

><p><strong>?…DW…?<strong>

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><p>As they neared the group, standing outside some sort of warehouse, they could hear a woman speaking. She sounded like she was some sort of sales representative, or tour guide.<p>

"Sorry, Sorry!" the Doctor cried, running up, dragging Rose with him. Donna caught up a second later. "We're late! Don't mind us! Hello. The guards let us through."

"And you would be…?" the woman said.

The Doctor held up the psychic paper for her to see. "The Doctor, Rose Tyler, and Donna Noble."

"Representing the Noble Corporation, PLC Limited, Intergalactic," Donna put in.

"We're quite well known. We should be there," Rose told her.

The woman seemed perplexed for a second, before she regained her professional manor. "You must have fallen off my list, my apologies. It won't happen again. Now then, Mrs Noble, Dr and Mrs Tyler, if you'd like to come with me."

"Oh, we…" The Doctor stuttered at the misinterpretation of their relationship. "Oh, never mind," he muttered. Hey, people thought they were together when they weren't, now they thought they were married when they were. They couldn't win. Rose grinned cheekily at his reaction.

"Well," she said after a slightly awkward pause. "If you're going by my name now, at least we know we won't be calling the kids 'Smith'." Suddenly her eyes widened as she realized what she had just joked about. The Doctor looked at her in surprise, and there was more awkward silence, even from Donna. Thankfully they were saved by the saleswoman in front of them.

"Right, well, I'm Solana, head of Marketing. Here's your information pack. Vouchers inside." She handed the Doctor a packet. "Now, if you'd like to come with me, the executive suites are nice and warm."

She was about to lead them through the door when an alarm started blaring.

"Ooh, what's that? Sounds like and alarm," the Doctor said.

"Oh, it's just a siren for the end of the work shift," Solana covered. "Now then, this way! Quickly as you can!"

Rose looked about as they went through the complex. She had known something wasn't right about the Ood the first time she met them. Now, it was time for her to find out.


	18. Planet of the Ood, Rough Guide

_**Hey everyone! Not much to say today. Although, a few weeks ago I opened my notes page and realized I forgot to put in a joke I thought of months ago. So, if you want to take a quick peak, I've edited the end of the last chapter.**_

_**Also, it would be pretty cool for those of you who have tumblr and don't already follow me to at least check me out. I feel so lonely! =D (URL's 'ky-sta').**_

_**And that's about it for today. Time to go write more on my never ending list of fics. Maybe History Repeats, Invisible Rose or Recovering Memories'. Hope you like it!**_

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><p>.<p>

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**Rough Guide**

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Rose looked around at the show room they had been brought to. It was cool slate, rocks and grey tones. But on certain screens that covered most of the walls were bright green, blue and purple pop-art pictures of an Ood. And on slightly raised platforms in the middle of the room stood three Ood on display. A few more Ood wandered around, handing out refreshments. And Solana stood up the front of the room behind a podium, giving her big speech as people either stood listening to her, or looking at the Ood.

Though the scene looked smooth and friendly, it was horrible.

"As you can see," Solana was saying, "the Ood are happy to serve, and we keep them in facilities of the highest standard. Here at the Double-O - that's Ood Operations - we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friends. We keep the Ood healthy, safe and educated. We don't just breed the Ood, we make them better. Because at heart, what is an Ood, but an extension of us? If your Ood is happy, then you'll be happy, too."

Around the room, the buyers began to applaud. Donna joined in half-heartedly, just so she didn't stick out. The Doctor looked at her with an odd expression.

"Oh, what a load of bull," Rose muttered. She wasn't sure if she'd heard a more fake, cheesy sales pitch, and she used to watch infomercials if there was nothing else on! The Doctor hummed in agreement to both her comment, and mental thought.

Back on stage, Solana waited for the applause to die down, peering out the door. She smiled when everything seemed to be in order for the next part, and walked round in front of the podium.

"Now, if I can introduce you, he's only just flown in. We're very lucky to have him with us today. The chief executive of Ood Operations, Mr Klineman Halpen." She held out an arm and gestured to the doorway, where a slightly tubby, balding man walked through the - once again - applauding crowd.

"I bet that's Ferrari boy," the Doctor muttered to them.

"I bet he's worth a bit," Donna murmured back. Rose scoffed and rolled her eyes, and the Doctor looked at Donna in disbelief.

"Are you travelling the universe to find a husband?" he said in a tone that matched his face.

"You got a problem with that, skinny?" she grinned at him.

"I'd hold out for better," Rose told her. "Believe me, some of the guys you meet around the universe…" She blew out a soft whistle, the kind that accompanies the sight of hot bodies and fanning oneself.

"Oi!" the Doctor's protests went unheard.

"This one guy - _man_ was he gorgeous - literally went straight from saving me from plummeting into London from god knows how high, to trying to seduce me by Big Ben. No angle, no ask of much else… Well, other than the con he was pulling, but he was a great guy."

The Doctor snorted. "It was _Jack_! I'm surprised he didn't try to seduce you while you were still falling."

"…Actually, I'm pretty sure he did." They grinned at each other, but the conversation was cut short when Mr Haplen began to speak.

"'Bout for over two centuries now, Ood Operations has licensed the Ood to the point where 50% of all houses across Galactic Central possess at least one domestic Ood." Donna closed her eyes in annoyance, and Rose wrinkled her nose, remembering how many there had been on Krop Tor. "And it's onwards and upwards as the Double-O looks to expand into new and alien territory.-"

"Can I just ask…?" the Doctor said before he could continue. His hand raised in the air.

"We'll be taking questions later," Solana informed him.

"Well, I'm asking questions now," he said. "'Cause our ship landed off-course beyond the ice field. And we found an Ood, in the snow. He'd been shot."

"Well, that's terrible," Halpen stuttered, putting on a show of sincerity. "I really must apologise, Mr…?"

"Doctor," he replied.

"Doctor," Halpen said, his eyebrows raised as the statement came out as more of a question. "Ood pirates, I'm afraid. They steal the Ood for the black-market. And if a prisoner escapes… Well, poor soul."

It was so made up, it wasn't funny.

"But do you have problems with the Oods?" the Doctor continued. "Nothing that might involve red eyes of any sorts?"

"I have no such reports," Halpen replied, looking clearly uncomfortable. He chuckled nervously. "You sound like a member of FOTO, Doctor."

"What's FOTO?" he said in confusion, then he got it. "Oh! Friends Of The Ood! Oh, I like it," he grinned, nodding his head in appreciation.

"Catchy. It works… And it's sweet," Rose said. She could remember Scooti calling her one back on Krop Tor. She'd replied with 'well, maybe I am, yeah. Since when do humans need slaves?' She still stuck to that comment.

"FOTO, yeah." He looked at his companions with a grin, before sharply turning back to the front. "Is that such a bad thing, then?" Rose smiled at the parallel.

"We're all friends of the Ood here," he replied. "Oh," he said, faking an alert on his wrist communicator. "Unfortunately, I've been called away. Uh, how sad. But, no body move. You've got some first class entertainment coming up. Now if you'll excuse me."

He stood down from the stage, and made his way over to the Doctor amidst more applause. An Ood with a sigma symbol on his jacket following him. "Well, Doctor. We'll continue this conversation another time."

"Do you know, I think we will." Halpen took in the two women, and Rose instinctively stepped closer to the Doctor, placing a hand on his arm. She instantly felt better.

"Nice coat," he said to Donna, his tone bordering on snide, but his eyes looked her up and down in appreciation.

"Nice rocket," she replied boisterously. The man raised an eyebrow, almost seeming to enjoy the comment, then walked off. Rose and the Doctor just looked at Donna incredulously. "What?" she said when she noticed their looks.

"Donna, no flirting with the nice Ood enslaver," Rose told her.

"Nice?!" the Doctor scoffed.

"Oi, wh-"

"Excuse me, everyone, if I could have your attention once more," Solana called, interrupting what Donna had been about to say. "I'd now like to point out a new innovation from Ood Operations. We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You can now have the standard setting." The turned to the first Ood on the platform. "How are you today, Ood?"

"I am perfectly well, thank you," he replied.

"Or, perhaps after a stressful day, a little something for the gentlemen." She walked over to the second Ood. "How are you, Ood?"

"All the better for seeing you," a sultry female voice came from the translator ball. Solana moved on.

"And the comedy classic option. Ood, you dropped something."

"Do'h!" Homer Simpson. Rose rolled her eyes as everyone around her chuckled.

"All that for only five additional credits. The details are in your brochures. Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so don't hold back." And she left to mingle, leaving everyone to chat an eat.

The Doctor whipped on his glasses while Rose and Donna grabbed a quick nibble, and went to a control board not far away. He turned it on to show were they were as the women came back to him.

"Ah, got it. The Ood Sphere. I've been to this solar system before, years ago. Ages. Close to the planet Sense Sphere. Let's widen it out…" He pressed a few buttons and the visual of space zoomed out to show a few galaxies. "The year 4126. That is the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire."

"You know, we still haven't made it to the Fourth," Rose grinned.

"Oh, we didn't, did we? I got distracted by Barcelona."

"4126?" Donna said. "It's 4126? I'm in 4126?"

"It's good, isn't it?" said the Doctor.

"Just wait until the years have gone by so much they start adding slashes and points and fruits!" Rose laughed.

"Eh?

"You know that first trip?"

"The one where he blew your job up?"

"No, after that. He took me to see the end of the Earth. The year was 5.5/Apple/26."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah!"

"So, if the Earth ends in 5.5/Apple… something… What does it look like now?"

"A bit full," the Doctor replied. "But you see, the empire stretches out across three galaxies.

"It's weird. I mean, it's brilliant, but… Back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live. Global warming, flooding, all the bees disappearing."

"Yeah, that bees thing is odd."

Rose nodded in agreement. "Trust me, humans just keep on inventing more apocalypse theories. That meteor in 2000. Mayan calendar in 2012, I've been there twice. Nothing happens. And those two brothers who were the vessels of… no, hang on, that's Supernatural…" The Doctor sniggered at her.

"But look at us!" Donna cried. "We're everywhere. Is that good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers or more like a virus?"

"Sometimes I wonder."

"Hey, what are the red dots?" Rose asked.

"Ood distribution centres."

"That's horrible!"

"Across three galaxies?! Don't the Ood get a say in this?"

"They don't. The way Danny was speaking about them…"

Frowning, Donna walked over to the nearest Ood. "Um… sorry, but…" It didn't seem to notice her until she tapped it on the shoulder. "Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?"

"I do not understand, miss."

"Why did you say 'miss'? Do I look single?" she said, offended.

"Bloody hell, a bit off point, Donna."

"Yeah, sorry… What I mean is, are there any free Ood? Are there any Ood running wild somewhere like wildebeest?" Rose snorted at the image that created.

"All Ood are born to serve. Otherwise we would die."

"I was told something similar last time. No names. Die without humans. All they want to do is _serve us_," she said in disgust.

"But you can't have started like that. Before the humans, what were you like?"

The Ood's head jerked. "The circle."

All three heads jerked up. "What do you mean? What circle?"

"The circ- the circle… is…"

"Ladies and gentlemen," Solana interrupted again. "All Ood to hospitality stations, please." All the Ood in the room silently filed out.

"I've had enough schmoozing. Do you fancy going off the beaten track?"

"Always," Rose grinned as the Doctor took out a map of the complex.

"'A Rough Guide to the Ood Sphere?' Works for me," Donna said.

"Yeah." The Doctor smiled at the two of them, then grabbing Rose's hand, he led them to exit door off to the side.

.

After navigating their way through the corridors, without running into a single person, they came to a door that would lead out into the main complex.

"Ooh, it's got a code lock. Must be important," Rose said, wagging her eyebrows.

The Doctor grabbed the sonic from his pocket and fried the circuits, letting them through. With a leap, he bounded down the ice covered steps outside. He looked at the map again as the girls followed him down.

"Lot's of places marked 'Out of Bounds'. I like out of bounds."

Suddenly Donna stopped him. "We're like… spies!" she said excitedly.

"Oh, we are spies," the Doctor assured her.

"Yup. Only from experience… we tend to be a bit more obvious. This one likes to talk too much."

"Oi! Miss Tyler! You aren't completely blameless either!" He grinned at her and she grinned back, then bit her lip. Donna grew uncomfortable as the couple just stared at each other, practically eyefucking.

"Alright, can we keep going before you two start shagging each other in the snow?" At that, they snapped out of it, the Doctor coughing and walking straight in a random direction, Rose puffed out a breath and ran her had through her hair. "Bloody hell, what would you two be doing if I weren't here?!"

"You don't wanna know," Rose said, following the Doctor. Donna winced before following herself.

It wasn't long till they came to a locked gate. The map didn't say what part of the facility it was, but it was most definitely out of bounds. They followed a path that led them to some steps. They went up there and along, till they came to a spot they could see the entire area.

Below them, hundreds of Ood were filed out of the building in two lines of five. They watched as an exhausted Ood at the back of a pack stumbled and fell. A man walked over to it, cracking a whip and shouting at it to stand up.

"Servants? They're slaves!" Donna said in horror.

"I said that," Rose growled. "When Danny called them a slave race he wasn't joking." They could only watch as the man continued to crack the whip as the Ood slowly and painfully stood up.

"Last time I met the Ood, I never thought… I never asked…"

"Yeah, well I did," Rose snapped. "While you were worrying about being guilty for getting me stuck and then swanning around ten miles under the surface of the bloody planet! And then you got suck down there wile I was up the top with possessed Ood! And I was never going to see you again! And-"

The Doctor winced when he felt a surge of pure panic sweep through him from Rose. Just the mere thought of being separated was causing her to instinctively panic. She was shaking. "Rose!" he cried, grabbing her by the shoulders. "It's okay, calm down. Breath."

"Are you okay?" Donna asked in concern, not having seen her friend this panicked.

"Yeah, I'm just…" She swallowed a deep breath. "What the hell was that?"

"You started having a panic attack. Just a minor one. You're okay. Just… try not to think about that. Now come on. After what happened last time, I reckon I owe the Ood one, don't you think?"

"That looks like the boss," Donna said as they saw Mr Halpen walk out of one of the buildings, a small entourage of two guards, an Ood and a man in a lab coat following him.

"Let's keep out of his way. Come on."

.

They kept wandering round, looking for somewhere they could search. The Doctor was walking with his eyes almost fixed on the map. He didn't notice when Donna stopped by a door. She had to whistle to get his attention. And, as almost everything Donna Noble did, it was _loud._ It made both Rose and the Doctor duck in surprise, like children being caught doing something they shouldn't. She almost laughed at their twin reactions.

"Where did you learn to whistle?" he asked, he and Rose walking over to her.

"West Ham, every Saturday."

Shrugging, he soniced the door open and they found themselves walking into a warehouse full of shipping containers. There were thousands upon thousands of the blue metal crates. The ones closest were stacked two high, but they could see in the distance where they were stacked about eight high. Swinging around between them was a large metal claw that reminded Rose of a toy vending machine... which then reminded her off the three eyed aliens off Toy Story. Shaking her head, she focused on the containers. The gravity of what they were began to sink in.

"Is this what I think it is?" Rose whispered.

"Ood export," the Doctor nodded, then pointed to the claw. "You see? Lifts up the containers, takes them to the rocket ships. Ready to be flown out all other three galaxies.

"What, you mean… these containers are full of…"

"What do you think," the Doctor said disdainfully.

"Blimey, I've - I've only ever heard about something like that on movies with- with slave trading and stuff!" Rose said hoarsely.

"Well, it's not really all that different," he replied. Going over to the nearest container he opened it to reveal tens of Oods, all standing in lines.

Beginning to shake again as a sound filled her head, Rose let a tear fall.

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><p><em><strong>Yeah, as I was reading through, I realized I gave Rose a lot of TV reference lines. But hey, she has all the time in the world to watch any movie from any era, and that LIBRARY!... Okay, I may be a smidge (bloody enormously) jealous.<strong>_


	19. Planet of the Ood, Ood Song

_**Hey everyone! Sorry this one has been taken so long. I keep getting distracted by things. And then I get writing on my unposted fics. This chapter's a little shorter than usual, but to make up for it, I'm almost done with the next chapter of 'History Repeats'.**_

_**Also, I recently applied for my dream job (Child's librarian assistant) recently. It's only part time, but I would love it more than anything. Yesterday I got a call back saying I have an interview, and I am SO excited about it. My interviews next week and I have things to prepare. So, fingers crossed.**_

_**Hope you like this chapter. I think I'm getting better at fitting Rose in there.**_

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><p>.<p>

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**Ood Song**

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"Oh, it stinks," Donna whispered in horror. "How many of them do you think there are in each one?"

"A hundred. More," the Doctor said darkly.

"It's horrible," Rose whispered, the tears falling faster. The Doctor looked at her in concern. He knew she hated what she was seeing, but this was something else.

"A great, big empire, built on slavery," Donna said in disgust.

"It's not so different form your time."

"Oi! I haven't got salves!" she said, offended.

"Who do you think made your clothes?"

"Is that why you travel round with a human at your side? It's not so that you can show them the wonders of the universe, it's so that you can take cheap shots."

"Sorry," he replied, not having realized it would come out like that.

"Well, don't" she said sharply. A second later she looked at him and her tone softened. "Spaceman."

"Trust me, Donna that wasn't a shot," Rose said, wiping the tears form her face and attempting to keep her composure. "Unfortunately, it is true, but he's said worse. The thing is, yeah, all this is wonderful... but the universe is just as bad as it is good. It's why we try and stop it. Try and save people... Like them."

"I don't understand," she said after looking at the Ood a moment. "The door was open. Why didn't you just run away?"

"For what reason?" the closest Ood asked.

"You could be free."

"I do not understand the concept."

"This is just like on Krop Tor. It's like they don't _know_ or _care_ that they're slaves. It's like they've been programmed. It's wrong. Something is _really_ wrong. They're not supposed to be like this. Nothing is," Rose said, getting angry again.

"Yeah, Rose is right. I mean, what's up with that Persil ball? They weren't born with it, are they? Why do they have to be all plugged in."

"Ood, tell me, does 'the circle' mean anything to you?" the Doctor asked them.

"The circle must be broken," they all said at once. Their balls lit up, dully illuminating them in the dark container. Rose unconsciously took a step towards the Doctor, the entire thing reminding her way too much of the whole Devil fiasco.

"Whoa, that's creepy," Donna said, echoing Rose's thoughts.

"But what it is? What's the circle?"

"The circle must be broken," they all said again.

"Why?"

"So that we can sing."

"Sing?" Rose said, things coming together in her mind. "Oh! Oh, that's it! Doctor, they-" Suddenly she was cut off when a loud alarm went off.

"That's us, come on!" he said grabbing her hand and rushing them out.

Turning, they sprinted out and through the maze of containers. There was no doubt that they would be coming from the way they had gone in. They had to take a different route. Rose and the Doctor ended up dropping hands so it was easier to run.

"Guys, there's a door!" she heard Donna say, and stopped back either look or drag her on. Right then, the door in question slid open and a whole bunch of guards ran in. Donna groaned, her head dropping back in annoyance. Rose just couldn't help put bury her face into her palm. Of course something like this would happen.

"Don't move!" one of the guards shouted, they were all aiming their guns at the two women.

"Well, ain't you just the nicest people we've met," Rose said, raising her hands in the air. Really, they'd had nicer arrests than this. And only to back this up, two guards each grabbed a hold of them. "Oi! Quit manhandling me!" she said, trying to jerk her arm away. They were using unnecessary force. Donna was struggling even more than she was.

"Put them in there for now," one said as they were dragged towards a container. Come on, what kind of treatment was this? She'd been treated better by a Serionian war lord! Roughly, they pushed her into the container after Donna and shut the door.

"Bloody hell, they were rude!" she muttered, pushing herself up from being sprawled on the floor. She'd have a few bruises no doubt.

Noting that Donna was looking at something, she raised her head to the back. There, standing silently were about half a dozen Ood. The rest of the container was empty.

"Can you help us?" Donna said, fear making her voice quiver. At the back of the small group, an Ood raised it's head to reveal glowing red eyes.

"Donna, Donna, Donna," Rose said, panicked. She hit Donna's arm as she got up and quickly backed up as far as she could. She leant against the wall and clutched at her chest as pain shot through her. What was happening?

"Oh, no you don't!" Donna whispered to the red eye Ood. "What have we done?" she said, getting up and going to the back, like Rose. "We're not like that lot. We're on your side."

"I don't think reasoning is gonna work with them, yeah?" Rose said, licking her lips and looking around as if there could be an escape route they hadn't seen. "Stay away from the Translator Ball. They can use it as a weapon."

"The what?"

"The bloody Percil ball, Donna! It can kill people!" As they spoke, the rest of the Oods twitched until they stilled and their eyes began to glow too. Slowly, they began to advance.

"No! Stay where you are, that's an order! I said stay! Doctor!" Donna called out when that didn't work.

"Stop giving them orders!" Rose shouted. "Doctor! Help!" She banged against the door with her shoulder, causing even more pain. Thankfully, to her relief, the pain in her chest was fading.

"Doctor, get us out of here!" Donna called. This time, they could hear muffled voices on the other side, including one that sounded distinctly like the Doctor. Another voice came, and then the door was being open.

Being against it, Rose fell out onto the ground as it was pulled away from her. Quickly she scrambled up and ran into the Doctor's arms. The only pain she had left now was the bruises that were starting to form. That didn't stop the panic from rising in her. And the Doctor could feel it.

"Rose, are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked as Donna came out and grabbed him too.

"Ah, I think we should run, yeah?"

"Run? Why? What from?"

"Them," Donna said, nodding back to the container as the Ood started to come out. They instantly turned and began to kill the guards with their Translator Balls.

"Red alert!" the Security leader shouted. "Fire!" The guards turned and started firing at the Ood.

As much as much Rose wanted to stop them, hating that even more Ood had to die, they saw that this was their chance to escape. The Doctor grabbed the two woman's hands, and they dashed off, dodging stray bullets. They found their way to the nearest door and out into the complex, Solana following close behind. They finally stopped when they believed that they were safe and out of sight.

"If the people back on Earth knew what was going on here..." Donna said leaning on her knees to recover.

"Don't be so stupid," Solana puffed. "Of course they know."

"They know how you treat the Ood?"

"They don't ask. Same thing."

"Yeah, and it's the same thing if I smack you around the head for being a right-"

"Rose!" the Doctor cut her off before she could finish the insult. He could see in her head what she was going to call the woman, and there was no doubt she would take it badly. They needed her help.

"Solana, the Ood aren't born like this. They can't be. A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place. What does the company do to make them obey?"

"That's nothing to do with me."

"What, because you don't ask?"

"That's Dr Ryder's territory," she told them.

"Where is he? What part of the complex?" He held up the map to her, beseeching with his eyes. "I could help with the red-eye. Now show me!"

Solana looked at them, then pointed to a spot on the map. "There, beyond the red section."

"Come with me," he said. "You've seen the warehouse, you can't agree with all this. You know this place better than me. You could help."

Once again, Solana looked at them, this time fear in her eyes. Then she looked over their shoulders. "They're over here!" she called out. "Guards, they're over here!"

Cursing, Rose grabbed the other two and turned and ran. She wasn't very good with maps, but guessed it was the right direction. She knew she was right when the sound in her head got even stronger. Suddenly two guards were running towards them from the passage they were about to take.

"This way!" the Doctor cried.

"No, wait, this way!" she replied, steering them a little further, following the singing. It was painful to hear, but she knew it was where she was needed. "You just need to listen!"

The Doctor's brow furrowed, but as they got closer his eyes sprung wide. "Oh! Oh, can you hear that? You can hear that? This is what you've been hearing this entire time?"

"Yes," she said as they charged though the gates to the door.

"Why didn't I hear it earlier?"

"I don't know, because you block everything out? I'm not very good at that yet." The Doctor began to sonic the lock. "The Ood are telepathic. I'm completely open to them."

Hearing the bolts go, the Doctor rammed his shoulder into the door, getting it open and running in. "Very probable," he said. "Didn't even need that map, did we?" He soniced the door again, locking it and breaking the system so no one could get in.

"Does that mean we're locked in?" Donna said, sounding slightly distressed.

"Shh! Listen. Listen, listen, listen, listen." Following the sound he had finally tuned into, he led them down some stairs where they discovered some cages. As they got closer, Rose pressed her hands over hear ears, tying in vain to block out the noise, and to put enough pressure on her temples.

"Oh, my head!" the Doctor hissed.

"What is it?" Donna asked.

"Can't you hear it? The singing?" It was so loud now, he was surprised that people couldn't hear it out loud.

"Over there," Rose said, pointing to a far cage. The Doctor shone his torch on the occupants of the cage a moment before turning on the main lights. The saw a small bunch of about half a dozen Ood. They were scared, crouched on the ground, huddled together... holding something.

"They look different to the others," Donna said.

"That's because they're natural-born Ood. Unprocessed. Before they're adapted to slavery. Unspoiled." Slowly Rose went right up to their cage and knelt down beside it. The other two followed. "That's their song," his voice was strained.

"I can't hear it," Donna said sadly.

"Do you want to?"

She turned to face him. "Yeah."

"It's the song of captivity," he warned.

"It's heart-breaking," Rose whispered.

"Let me hear it."

"Face me," he instructed. When she did so, he placed his fingertips on her temples. "Open your mind, that's it. Hear it. Hear it, Donna... Hear the music."

Suddenly Donna's eyes widened and she gasped as she too heard the song of the Ood. She turned to face the Ood, tears running down her cheeks, much like Rose was. She looked at the Ood in sympathy for a moment. "Take it away," she sobbed quietly.

"You sure?"

"I can't bare it." Moving much quicker than last time, the Doctor placed his fingers on her temples again and shut it down. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he told her.

"But you can still hear it."

"All the time."

"And Rose, you've been able to hear it since we got here, haven't you?"

"Yeah... but, even though it's heart-breaking, it's beautiful. It's their mind."

"Mind?" the Doctor questioned her. And he realized that she meant they all thought together, as one. Something was keeping linked together. Taking out the Sonic Screwdriver, he let them into the cage. And through the sounds of their own clanging and banging, they could hear another.

"They're breaking in!" Donna said.

"Ah let them!" he replied. Instantly, the Ood tried to shuffle away towards the back of the cage.

Beside him, Rose knelt down and moved a little closer. "Hello," she said to them, her tone soft. "I'm Rose." The Ood shuffled and looked at her shyly. "It's okay," she told them. "We're friends. We're here to help... Your song is beautiful. What have you got there?" They glanced down at their hands. "Can I see?"

"Friend," the Doctor said softly, now down beside her. "Doctor, Donna, Rose. Friend. Look at us. Let us see." Slowly, one of the Ood from the back shuffled closer. "That's it. That's it, go on. Go on," he coaxed.

The Ood held out his cupped hands towards them. He removed the top hand to reveal a small, soft pink oval that was attached to the pale cord leading from their... mouth... tentacles?

"Is that..."

"It's a brain. A hindbrain. The Ood are born with a secondary brain. Like the amygdala in humans, it processes memory and emotion. You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Donna or Rose anymore. You'd be like an Ood. A processed Ood."

"So, the company... cuts off their brains."

"And stitches on the translator ball."

"That's just sick!" Rose hissed. "The give them a damn _lobotomy_ and turn them into slaves! If I ever get my hands on the person who thought of that..."

Just then, there was a crash as the guards broken in. "They're with the Ood, sir," one called.

They stood, and the Doctor swung the door of the cage shut, locking them in. "What are you going to do then?" he called manically. "Arrest me? Lock me up? Well you're too late! Ha!"

However, they were very quickly proven wrong when one of the guards come forth with the key. They were given a guard or two each and dragged away to some posh looking offices where they were handcuffed to the pole.

And in front of them was the guy the would have no hesitation in punching in the face. Mr Halpen.


	20. Planet of the Ood, End of the Song

_**Hey everyone. Sorry it's been so long. I've had personal issues, and computer issues, and then my Muse decided to throw a hissy-fit and storm out the door. So, FINALLY, here is the next chapter. It's even a little longer, so I hope you like it. I had to work two extra people into a spot of set dialogue, so it was a little difficult.  
>I'm babysitting my cousins this labour weekend, so the amount of writing I will get done is either a decent bit, or just a little bit. Either way, I'll try and get something else up soon. Sad to say, I'm still stuck on 'Footsteps' after I lost those pages.<strong>_

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><p>.<p>

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**End of the Song**

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"Why don't you come out and say it?" Halpen demanded of them. "FOTO activists."

"If that's what Friends of the Ood are trying to prove, then yes," the Doctor said.

"The Ood were nothing without us. Just dumb animals roaming around on the ice."

"That's because you can't hear them!" his voice was becoming a growl.

"They welcome it! It's not as if they put up a fight," Halpen scoffed.

"You idiot!" Donna snarled. "They're born with their brain in their hands. Don't you see? That makes them peaceful. They've got to be because a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets!"

"Nice one," the Doctor encouraged enthusiastically.

"Thank you," she whispered in reply.

Halpen had opened his mouth to speak again when Rose cut him off. "Don't you dare. Don't you dare even think about calling them weak, or saying it was your right. The Ood are peaceful. They sing songs about peace and freedom and beauty. They sing about the sadness of what you've done to them. They were a happy race... then you – _you_ stupid _humans_ came along and destroyed them, just because you can't hear what they have to say!"

"Oh, and you can?" the greasy man sneered.

"Yes!" she cried. "Ood are telepathic! You are lobotomising them so you can give them a voice they don't need. You're taking away part of who they are! Don't you get it? The red eye is because of what you're doing to them!" she shouted. As she yelled and strained against her restraints, she felt the cuffs biting into her wrists. Right now those cuffs were the only things stopping Halpen getting what he deserved.

"The system's worked for two hundred years," he said as if everything Rose had said didn't matter. "All we've got is a rogue batch. But the infection is about to be sterilized." He held his wristwatch up to his mouth and used the comm. "Mr Kess, how do we stand?"

"Canisters primed, sir," came the reply. Rose could feel her hearts drop into her stomach. "As soon as the core heats up, the gas is released. Give it 200 marks... and counting."

"You're going to gas them?!" the Doctor cried, appalled.

"Kill the livestock. The classic foot-and-mouth solution. Still work."

"No! You can't!" Rose shouted.

"Actually, I can. And, it's happening now."

"You bastard!" she seethed.

"Just wait till I get my hands on you, _mate_," Donna said.

"I'm afraid, you won't get the chance." Then, he stalked over to a man in a lab coat to talk to him. The man in the coat didn't seem all that happy about what was going on. He seemed to be asking Halpen to reconsider. To give him time to find a cure.

"Okay, so what are we going to do?" Donna whispered. "How are we getting out of this one?"

"Doctor, please tell me you have the sonic in a decent place?"

"It's in one of my pockets... do you think you can work it with your mouth? I mean, I know that you certainly have a talent for using your-"

"Oh, _too_ much information!" Donna cut off his train of thought.

The Doctor opened his mouth to protest when he was cut off again by alarms blaring through the building. Quickly, the three of them sprung apart as much as they could, looking about them.

"What the hell?" Halpen said. "I told them! I said it half a dozen times. No alarms!"

"Perhaps we should check," the man in the lab coat said. "Something could be very wrong."

Nodding grudgingly, Halpen stalked off, the other man and Ood Sigma with him. It wasn't long till they walked back in.

"Change of plan," Halpen said.

"No reports of trouble off-world, sir. It's still contained to the Ood-Sphere."

"Then we've got a public duty to stop it before it spreads."

"What's happening?" the Doctor asked them.

"Everything you wanted, Doctor. No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilized, so I can't risk a bullet to the head. I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood." He started to walk out when the Doctor called him back.

"But, Mr Halpen, there's something else, isn't there? Something we haven't seen."

"What do you mean?" Donna said.

"The creature couldn't survive with a separate forebrain and hindbrain, they'd be at war with themselves. There's got to be something else-"

"What? Like a third brain or something?" Rose said seeing the vague images his mind was working through.

"Yes, exactly. A third element. Something that ties them all together, am I right?"

"And again, so clever," he said with his creepy smile.

"It's got to be connected to the red-eye. What is it?"

Halpen took two big strides, so he was in the Doctor's face. "_It_ won't exist for very much longer. Enjoy your Ood." And once again, he left.

"Bastard!" Rose hissed. She was too busy seething that for a moment she didn't realize that no one was watching them. She felt the Donna and the Doctor struggling to slip out of their cuffs on either side of her.

"Come on! The Doctor growled as he fiddled with them.

"Well, do something!" Donna cried. "You're the one with all the tricks! You must have met Houdini!"

"Yeah, doesn't mean he actually learnt anything," Rose said.

"And these are really good handcuffs!"

"Oh, I'm glad of that. At least we've got quality!"

"Doctor, where's the sonic?" she asked.

"In my pocket." She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, I know that. Which one?"

"Left trouser. Are you sure you want to do this again, because that will work so well last time." Rose almost blushed at the images in his head. Namely the last time she did that. They'd been caught in what looked like very compromising position, much to her horror.

"As you're clearly thinking. I've done it before."

"So, you two get into this sort of situation often," Donna assumed.

"Erm... yeah."

It took less than a second for Donna to pick up on her tone. "You two are like rabbits," she muttered. "Rabbits in heat."

"Worse actually," the Doctor muttered.

"Rabbits don't go into heat," Rose corrected her. "Not like cats do anyway." Before she could attempt to go through with her plan, they were all stopped by the sound of the doors opening. Looking up, they saw three Ood step in.

"Ah... Rose, Doctor, Donna. Friends!" the Doctor blurted out, hoping it would help.

"The circle must be broken!" Donna said.

"Help the Ood sing!" Rose cried.

They kept repeating their lines over and over as the Ood drew closer, their voices becoming more and more frantic. They pushed back as far as they could, still shouting as the translator balls were held out, extended towards their heads...

Then stopped. A small way from them, the Ood stopped, looked at them a moment, then dropped the balls. Their heads fell into their hands, and when they looked up again, the red eye was gone.

"Rose, Doctor, Donna. Friends," the middle one said. They breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's me! That's us!" Donna said.

"Yes! Oh thank god. Yes, were friends," Rose said at the same time. Even the Doctor was shouting over them.

"Yes! That's us! Friends! Oh, yes!"

"Yes, friends," he said. "You will help us sing. We will help you." The Ood on the left went over to the table behind them and grabbed the keys. Soon they were all free.

"Thank you," Rose said to them. "Come on, we have to stop that Creep."

"Has she ever been this hateful towards someone before?"

The Doctor shrugged a maybe, then headed for the door. The girls following behind him. They charged out into the compound, finding it in chaos. They looked about, but could see no sign of Halpen and the doctor. "I don't know where it is!" he cried, his head swinging wildly about. "I don't know where they've gone!"

"What are we looking for?" Donna asked.

"Can we listen for it, like we did before?" Rose asked, but even as she said it, she was reaching to cover her ears. Everything was in chaos. Everything. Instead of Ood song, all she could hear was a deafening sound crossed between the tone a dead TV squeals out and the screech of something in pain. The Doctor seemed to be doing a better job of ignoring it than she was. Then again, he was more psychically trained then she was. She was still mostly an open receptor, especially to something this strong.

"Might be underground, like some sort of cave or a cavern or..." he shouted out as they ran on. As they dashed through a courtyard, there was a loud noise and they were knocked onto their stomachs. They took a quick glance back at the crates that had exploded. "All right?" he asked them. They nodded and made to get up.

Looking back at the explosion, they found they were somewhat lost. And that's when they saw him. The smoke was starting to clear, and Ood Sigma was standing just on the other side.

"That's Hapen's Ood!" Rose said, dashing off towards him. If his Ood was out here, then perhaps Halpen was near by.

"Greetings, Rose Tyler," he said to her. "Please follow me."

"Where to?" she asked him as the others ran to her side.

"I will take you and your companions to Mr. Halpen."

The three of them looked at each other almost in disbelief. Could it really be that easy? Then the Doctor shrugged, and they followed the Ood to a door a few blocks away. It was a plain door. They would have never noticed it if they weren't taken there. The Doctor sonic-ed the door open and they went down into the cavern.

The first thing they saw when they went in was a large brain. It thumped as if it had a pulse running through it, like it had a heart of it's own. Parts of some sort of machine were sticking into it at random points. There were pylons running in a circle around it, an electric current running between them. A brain. The Doctor had been right.

"The Ood brain," he said, leaning on the banister. "Now it all makes sense. That's the missing link. The third element, binding them together. Forebrain, hindbrain and this. The telepathic centre. It's a shared mind, connecting all the Ood in song."

A click grabbed their attention and they turned to see Halpen pointing a gun at them room the other side of the room.

"Cargo," he said, sounding a little mad and frantic. "I can always go into cargo. I've got the rockets, I've got the sheds. Smaller business. Much more manageable without livestock."

"He's mined the area," the doctor in the white coat told them, he neither looked nor sounded all too happy about it.

"You're gonna kill it," Donna said in disgust.

"You can't do that. All the Ood will die!" Rose cried. She took a step forward, all but ready to sock him one, but she stopped when she remembered he had a gun on her.

"They found that thing centuries ago beneath the northern glacier."

"Those pylons," the Doctor said to them.

"In a circle," Donna noted. "'The circle must be broken'."

"Dampening the telepathic field, stopping the Ood from connecting for 200 years."

"And you, Ood Sigma," Halpen said, almost ignoring them. "You brought them here. I expected better."

"My place is at your side, sir," he replied, moving to stand next to Halpen.

Halpen let out a snide chuckle. "Still subservient. Good Oo..." Rose watched as he wasn't able to finish his sentence and his face contorted in confusion. Was something wrong with him? The others must not have noticed, because they kept talking.

"If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood started breaking out?"

"Maybe it's taken centuries to adapt," the Doctor answered Donna's question. "The subconscious reaching out."

"But the process was too slow," said the doctor in the coat. He stepped forward so that he was talking to them, up beside Halpen. "Had to be accelerated. You should never have given me access to the controls, Mr Halpen. I lowered the barrier to it's minimum. Friends of the Ood, sir. It's taken me ten years to infiltrate the company. And I succeeded."

"Yes. Yes, you did," Halpen said, that horrible grin on his face. Then, without any warning, he threw the man over the rail.

"No!" Rose cried, lunging forward. She was close enough to him to grab a leg just in time. The man was heavy and she winced as her arms jolted down onto the metal rail. Her arms would be bruised from that, if not for the fact that they were still biting down on the bar, trying to get leverage. She heard movement behind her, but concentrated on holding the man up. She didn't know how long she could last with this. His trouser leg was slowly slipping from her grasp, and he was struggling about, trying to grab a hold of something with his arms.

"Drop him," she heard Halpen order. "Ryder was always a bore to work with."

There was a few quick steps and a rustle of a coat as the Doctor moved in between her and Halpen. She realized it was most likely that he was aiming the gun solely on her. "Hurt my mate and I will kill you," he growled. "Donna, help her."

Then, Donna was by her side and the two of them struggled to pull Dr Ryder up. They managed to get him back over the banister. They stood there, panting for a second before a voice brought them back into the situation.

"Idiots," Halpen sneered, "I still have a gun. Can't say I've ever shot anyone before... Can't say I'm going to like it, but, uh... it's not exactly a normal day, is it? Still..." He raised his gun to fire, yet again.

"Would you like a drink, sir?" Sigma interrupted.

He chuckled darkly. "I think hair loss is the least of my problems right now, thanks.

Sigma walked in between Halpen and the rest of them, a small shot glass full of clear liquid in his hand. "Please have a drink, sir."

"If..." it seemed like Halpen was struggling to talk again, his words not quite forming in his mouth. "If you're going to stand in their way, I'll shoot you too..." The Doctor reached out and put his hand on Sigma's shoulder, urging him to be careful.

"Please have a drink, sir."

A look of dawning comprehension came across Halpen's face, followed by horror. "Have... have you... poisoned me?"

"Natural Ood must never kill, sir," the Ood said. If it weren't for that damn translator ball, Rose thought he sounded a little smug.

"What is that stuff?" the Doctor asked him.

"Ood-graft suspended in a biological compound." Although Rose's brain had the ability to understand things like this better, she wasn't an instant whiz at it. She knew that it had something to do with growing an Ood somehow, but she was sure the Doctor was calculating it faster than she was.

Halpen was starting to look clearly unwell. "What the hell does that mean?" he shouted.

"Oh dear," the Doctor said as he clicked. Rose could feel that he was somewhat amused by what it was.

"Tell me!"

"Funny thing, the subconscious. Takes all sorts of shapes. It came out in the red eye as revenge. It came out in the rabid Ood as anger. And then there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy focuses on Ood Sigma. How's the hair loss, Mr Halpen?"

Reaching for his hair, he dragged a hand through and came back with a clump of loose hair. "What have you done?" he stammered.

Rose finally managed to click onto what Ood Sigma had done. "They... what... You're kidding me, yeah?" The Doctor grinned at her and raised his eyebrows cheekily.

"Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time," he answered Halpen. "And now you're standing next to the Ood brain. Mr Halpen, can you hear it? Listen."

By now, Halpen was shaking. "What have you... I'm... not-" The gun dropped from his hands, a dull look on his face. He let out a silent cry of agony and he gripped his head, almost doubling over. His hands creeped up the back of his head and he began ripping at it. He peeled the skin away as if it were banana skin. For a moment, Rose thought that he was pulling back all the way to the scull, but as he kept pulling, she saw that she had been wrong. He began choking, and he vomited out tentacles. When he ripped off the rest of his face... He was an Ood.

They all stood there, absolutely stunned.

"Oh my god," Dr Ryder said slowly.

"They – they turned him into an Ood?" Donna said in bewilderment.

"Yup," the Doctor replied.

"He's an Ood!"

"I noticed."

"He's an Ood in a suit," Rose pointed out, dumbfounded by what she had just seen. She winced in disgust as Ood Halpen made a strange gurgling noise, before coughing up his second brain.

"He has become Ood-kind an we will take care of him," Sigma stated.

"It's weird, being with you. I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore."

"Yeah, just a little bit," Rose shrugged.

"It's better that way," the Doctor told her. "People who know for certain tend to be like Mr Halpen." Suddenly a loud beeping distracted them. "Oh!" he cried. He rushed to the railing, leant over and turned off the detonation packs. "That's better."

"It's been ten long years, but it's finally over," Ryder said, he looked stunned.

"Yes. Yes it is. There's only one thing left to do. Ood Sigma, will you allow me the honour?"

"It is all yours, Doctor."

"Oh, yes!" he cried, going over to the controls. "Stifled for over 200 years, but not anymore. The circle is broken. The Ood can sing!"

With the push of a lever, the barrier around the Ood brain shut down. The singing that Rose could hear in the back of her head all this time got louder and a look of amazement came across everyone's face.

"I can hear it!" Donna said in wonder. She and the Doctor looked at each other and let out a laugh, and Ryder whooped for joy. Beside them, Ood Sigma raised his arms to his sides as all the Ood joined in song.

The Ood were free.

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><p><strong>?...DW...?<strong>

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><p>As usual, they didn't stay long. The Ood and Dr Ryder said that they would sort everything out. And now they stood back at the TARDIS, a circle of Ood come to bid them goodbye. Ood Sigma was standing in front of them.<p>

"The message has gone out," the Doctor told him. "That song resonated across the galaxies. Everyone heard it. Everyone knows. The rockets are bringing them back. The Ood are coming home."

"We thank you, Rose, Doctor-Donna, friends of Ood-kind. And what of you now? Will you stay? There is room in the song for you."

"Oh, I've – I've sort of a song of my own, thanks."

"Yes, you do. I think there are more songs in your future," Sigma said.

The Doctor blinked, not understanding. "Meaning?"

Sigma looked at Donna as he spoke. "There is a song that will end, and a song that will come." He turned to look at Rose. "And a song that is still yet to be."

"Ah... yeah." He turned to Donna. "Um, what about you? Do you still want to go home?"

"No," she said. "Definitely not."

"Brilliant," Rose grinned, relived to hear that. She _really _ liked Donna. And as much as she enjoyed having the TARDIS to just the Doctor and herself, she missed having a friend around. It hadn't quite been the same without Martha.

"Then we'll be off," the Doctor said.

"Take this song with you," Sigma said.

"We will," Donna told them.

"Thank you," Rose said to them at the same time as the Doctor said 'Always'.

"And know this, Rose, Doctor-Donna, you will never be forgotten. Our children will sing of the Doctor-Donna and Rose, and our children's children, and the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever."

Rose smiled at them as they walked into the TARDIS to go. It was fair to say that her mind had been changed. She _definitely_ liked the Ood... but what had they meant... A song that is still yet to be.


	21. The Sontaran Stratagem, Back to Earth

_**Hello! I am SO sorry with how long it's been since I last updated. I have been so flat out. Work is evil, and life is pretty full on. I am, however, also very excited. It's my 21st in 7 days. And my best friend and I now have a website for our original novels. It's a beta reading website where we post our first draft and ask for critiques so we can better it when we edit. It is a private one though, so if you would like to see it, just ask.**_

_**So yeah, because of that, I've also been trying to get as much editing of our novel done so that the chapters can get posted.**_

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><p>.<p>

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***The Sontaran Stratagem***

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**Back to Earth**

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Rose watched on as Donna flew the TARDIS. She was almost laughing at how worried the Doctor looked at the sight. She was practically having to hold him back from just taking over. There were very few people he trusted to fly the TARDIS, she and Jack amongst them. She, however, knew that the TARDIS would never let Donna crash. And she looked so delighted flying on her own.

"I can't believe I'm doing this!" she almost squealed.

"No, neither can I," he replied. The TARDIS started shaking more than usual. "Oh! Whoa, careful!" he picked up the rubber mallet and bashed the console a bit, before lifting a lever. The mallet was immediately snatched out of his hand and tossed away by Rose. "Getting a bit too close to the 1980's"

"What am I going to do?" she said. "Put a dent in them?"

"Well, someone did," he muttered.

"Oi!" Rose cried, defending her birth decade. It may have just been pure nostalgia she was clinging to, but she had loved it. Suddenly, the mobile in her pocket began to ring. At first it was a surprise. No one had called her in a very long time.

"Hold on, that's a phone!" Donna said in surprise.

"Yep," the Doctor said.

"You have a mobile that works in space?"

"The Doctor supercharged it on my first trip," Rose told her. "But the TARDIS _does_ have a phone, you know."

"Since when?!"

The Doctor scoffed. "This _is_ a call box! Of course it's got a phone!"

"Shh!" Rose hushed, then she opened the phone. "Hello?"

"Rose? It's Martha," she heard her friends voice down the line. "I'm bringing you two back to Earth."

"Martha?!" Rose cried in delight. "Oh my god! Where are you?!"

The Doctor watched in happy surprise as Rose chatted as she ran around the console, putting in coordinates. He hadn't really expected to hear from Martha for a while. He missed her, but after what had happened last time, he wasn't surprised that she wanted to keep her distance. He could feel Rose's elation. It had been weeks since she'd last spoken to Martha, someone she considered to be one of her closest friends.

"Okay, we'll be right there!" she squeaked, hanging up.

"Somebody's excited," Donna smirked.

"Damn right I am!" Rose said. "Donna, I think it's time you met Martha Jones!"

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><p><strong>?...DW...?<strong>

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><p>Rose grinned as the TARDIS landed. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her.<p>

"You're getting good at that," he commented.

"I better be! Now come on!" Flashing her tongue in teeth grin, she dashed out the door. Donna watched the younger girl in amusement, before looking at the Doctor. He was staring after her with an enamoured grin.

"Ugh!" she groaned. "You two are just so stupidly adorable sometimes!"

"Eh," the Doctor replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Come on, we better get out there before we lose her."

As it turned out, there was no chance of that. As soon as they stepped out of the TARDIS, they were met with the sight of Rose and Martha hugging tightly, small giggles slipping their lips.

"Oh my gosh, look at you! You look great!" Martha said as they stepped back.

"So do you!" Rose gushed. "Interesting outfit." The corners of her mouth twitched down, betraying her smile as a memory slipped through her head. That out fit seemed eerily reminiscent of a certain year best left forgotten... quite literally for most.

As Rose was pondering this, Martha spotted the Doctor. At first they were both calm as they walked towards each other. It seemed odd to watch that. She was so used to the idea of rushing into his waiting arms that she never really considered that this didn't really happen often with other people.

"Martha Jones," he said fondly.

"Doctor," she said. Their faced seemed serious, but their eyes were twinkling with mirth, and in the next second the Doctor had opened his arms wide and swept her into a hug.

"Ah! Yeah!" he grinned happily as he lifted her up, then placed her back down. "You haven't changed a bit!" Rose raised an eyebrow. Really? Did he really think that? Because she could see quite a bit that had changed about her friend. She seemed good, better even, but something was off. The Doctor looked over at her when he felt her doubt.

"Neither have you!" Martha exclaimed, looking him up and down.

"He _really _hasn't," Rose said. "Well, looks anyway." The Doctor shot her a wink, knowing just how much she liked his _looks_.

"All right, that's enough you two!" Donna admonished. "What have I said about doing that in public?"

"How's the family?" the Doctor said, quickly changing the subject and ignoring Donna all together. Donna just rolled her eyes at him.

"You know. Not so bad. Recovering."

"That's good," Rose said. "And Leo's still clueless."

"As ever!" Martha laughed. "Keeps wondering what got into us sometimes." She grinned at them uneasily, before her eyes settled on Donna again. "Oh, hello! I'm-"

"Martha Jones," Donna finished. "Rose has mentioned you quite a bit. And himself. I'm Donna. Donna Noble."

"Nice to meet you. Sorry these rude gits didn't introduce us sooner. Their game is slipping."

"Game?" the Doctor questioned.

"Oh, please! Everywhere you go it's 'hello, I'm the Doctor, and this my Rose, and our other companion'!"

"We do not!"

"Actually, we kind of do," Rose said. "But this is a reunion."

"Yeah, Reunions tend to go a little differently." He tugged on his ear.

"You should have seen me and Sarah Jane."

"Speaking of which, please don't start a fight. I can't bare fighting." Both women looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Doctor," Rose said, going to stand beside him.

"Mmm?"

"Don't know if you've noticed yet, but they're getting on like a house on fire."

"Oh... Oh, they are, aren't they?! Well, that's good. That's very good. Erm, carry on."

"You two have hardly changed," Martha grinned. "Speaking of which, how are the happy couple?"

"Brilliant," Rose said. The Doctor grinned, making a happy little humming noise as he did, and pulled Rose into him in a side hug.

"They can't bloody keep their hands off each other," Donna rolled her eyes. "They're worse than rabbits! Seriously, I'm scared to touch half the surfaces in that ship!"

Martha burst out laughing. "Oh, wow! You two don't do anything half way, do you? Then again... three years..."

"You have no idea," the Doctor sighed. Rose looked at him oddly when she felt something slip through the bond too quickly for her to catch it. It was clear that he'd forced it out so she wouldn't. She mentally prodded him and he looked over at Martha again, studiously ignoring her. Rose pouted. He was hiding something. He definitely was. Still annoyed, she looked back to Martha as a distraction. That was when she noticed it.

"Hey, since when has that been there!" She cried.

"What?" Rose nodded to the gem on her left ring finger and she brought it up for all to see.

"You're engaged?" the Doctor exclaimed. "Really? Who to?"

"Tom. That Tom Milligan. He's in paediatrics working out in Africa right now."

"Tom from the year that never was?" Rose asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh! I _knew_ you had a thing for him!"

"Yeah, well, I wasn't going to do anything more than that call. But then I got placed at the same hospital as him when UNIT pushed my training through. We just hit it off."

"Good on you!" She was about to say more, but she was cut off by the static sound of a walkie-talkie transmitting.

"Dr Jones, report to base, please."

"And speaking of which..." She picked up the radio at her hip and turned to walk the other way as she talked into it. "This is Dr Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go. I repeat, this is a go."

The three travellers looked at her in bewilderment. Rose felt dread rise up I her. This was so wrong. It was so familiar and it was so wrong. She found that she was becoming terrified of what her friend could be like now.

She had spent a year with Martha and watched her change into a cold, military like person... Had she been too naïve to hope that she would change when things went back to normal? Then again, things never did go back to normal, did they? The year had reversed, but they had not changed with it. It had been different for all of them. They had grown too much.

They followed Martha, watching in concern as UNIT members ran in, trucks drove about. Orders were being shouted out and Martha looked on with a steely coolness. UINT officers stormed into a near by factory. Once again, she picked up the comm.

"Greyhound Six to Trap One. B Section, go, go go! Search the ground floor, grid pattern Delta."

"What are you searching for?" the Doctor asked her.

"Illegal aliens!" she replied.

"Illegal?" Rose mouthed at him. He just shrugged in reply, his bottom lip sicking out slightly.

Martha ran off shouting commands into her comm. They looked about in horror as soldiers roughly handled the workers of the factory. Shouting at them, manhandling them, forcing the seemingly ordinary people onto their knees.

"Is that what you did to her?" Donna said quietly. "Turn her into a soldier?"

"No," Rose told her. "No, he didn't even know it was happening." Both of them looked at her, the Doctor hadn't realized that she knew Martha could be like this. "He didn't do this to her, the Master did."

"Who?"

"An old... friend of mine. He's dead now."

"And he did _that_ to her?"

"You should have seen what he did to the world," Rose muttered.

They stood around in silence, just watching the goings on until Martha came back to them. That was when the Doctor noticed the badge pinned to her jacket. He'd been listening to the earlier conversation, but he hadn't really clicked on till now.

"You're qualified now? You're a proper doctor?"

"UNIT rushed it though, given my experience in the field. Here we go." She led them across the grounds to the large black truck. "We're establishing a field base on site. They're dying to meet you."

"Wish I could say the same," he muttered.

They were led into the back of the truck, which was surprisingly deceptive on the outside. Inside they were faced with a posh, high-tech headquarters. It didn't even look like they were still on the same truck. And if it weren't for the fact that the inside was about the right size, Rose would have thought they'd found a way to use Time Lord technology.

"Operation Blue Sky complete, sir," Martha said, waking over to a man in high-ranking uniform. "Thanks for letting me take the lead. And this... this is the Doctor. Doctor, Colonel Mace."

"Sir." Colonel Mace stood rigid and raised his hand in salute.

"Oh, don't salute," he complained.

"But it is an honour, sir. I've read all the files on you. Technically speaking, you're still on staff. You never resigned."

"What? You used to work for them?" Donna said in surprise.

"Yeah. A long time ago. Back in the 70's... or was it the 80's?"

"He got Earthbound for a little bit," Rose explained.

"It was all a bit more homespun back then." He looked about at all the computers and the workforce going on around them.

"Times have changed, sir."

"Yeah, that's enough of the 'sir'."

"Come on though, Doctor. You've seen it. You've been on board the Valiant."

"Yeah, not a fan of that place," Rose muttered.

"We've got massive funding from United Nations, all in the name of Homeworld Security."

"A modern UNIT for the modern world."

"What, and that means arresting ordinary factory workers in the streets in broad daylight? It's more like Guantanamo Bay out there. Donna, by the way. Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. I'll have a salute." The Doctor hid his grin as he took off his coat and chucked it over the desk.

Mace looked at the Doctor in bewilderment, and he gave a slight nod. "Ma'am!" He saluted.

"Thank you," Donna said. Rose grinned and shook her head. "You want one too, Rose?"

"No, no. I'm good," she laughed.

"Tell me what's going on in that factory," the Doctor said, now sitting down near the front.

"Yesterday, fifty-two people died in identical circumstances right across the world, in eleven different time zones," Mace said. As he spoke, points popped up on the screen, showing the locations of the deaths. "5am in the UK, 6am in France, 8am in Moscow, 1pm in China-"

"You mean they died simultaneously?"

"Exactly. Fifty-two deaths at the exact same moment world wide."

"How did they die?"

"They were all inside their cars."

"They were poisoned" Martha added. "I checked the biopsies. No toxins. Whatever it is, left the system immediately."

"What have the cars got in common?"

"Completely different makes, but all fitted with ATMOS. And that is the ATMOS factory."

"What's ATMOS?" Rose asked.

"Oh, come on, even I know that," Donna said. "Everyone's got ATMOS."

"Oh, god. It's like Archangel all over again," Rose groaned.

"Archangel? Wasn't that that network thing for your cellphone?"

"Yep, it was," Martha said, frowning.

"What was wrong with it?"

"It was made as a semi-psychic transmitter by a psychopathic alien."

"Can anything just be normal with you lot?" Donna said. "I mean, next you're going to tell me that there are aliens in parliament!"

"Well..." the Doctor shrugged. "There used to be. Anyway."

Soon they were being being led around the factory, watching everything from above on the catwalk.

"Stands for 'Atmostpheric Emissions System'. The ATMOS in your car reduces OC2 emissions to zero."

"Zero? No carbon, none at all?

"And you get sat-nav thrown in, plus 20 quid in shopping vouches if you introduce a friend. Bargain," Donna told them.

"And this is where they make it, Doctor, shipping worldwide," Mace added. "Seventeen factories across the globe, but this is the central depot, sending ATMOS to every country on Earth."

"And you think ATMOS is alien?"

"It's out job to investigate that possibility. Doctor?" He walked off, and they followed, soon coming to another part of the factory, but this time on the ground floor. Mace indicated to a small metal box. "And here it is, laid bare. ATMOS can be threaded through any and every make of car."

"You must've checked it before it went on sale."

"We did," Martha said. "We found nothing. That's why I thought we needed and expert."

The Doctor put on his glasses and began to examine the ATMOS. "Really? Who did you get?" Everyone in the room looked at him with a raised eyebrow or amused expression. "Oh, right! Me, yes! Good."

Martha and Colonel Mace left and the Doctor kept looking about at everything.

"Okay, so why would aliens be so keen on cleaning up our atmosphere?" Donna asked.

"Very good question."

"This is pretty advanced stuff," Rose said. "I thought this wouldn't come in for a few more decades, or centuries."

"Maybe they want to help... get rid of pollution and stuff."

"Do you know how many cars there are on planet Earth?" he asked them. "800 million. Imagine that. If you could control them, you'd have 800 million weapons."

"Well, great," Rose sighed. "So, we only have to fight 800 million cars." She shrugged. "We've faced worse."

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><p><em><strong>Once again, sorry it took so long. I wish I could say that I will try and get the next one out sooner, but I really have no control over how fast I write this anymore. I do promise to try, though. And to get other stories out and done... even if I've hit a block with them. (I know where I want to take them all, the words just hate me right now).<strong>_

_**Thanks SO much for sticking with me. I love you all!**_


	22. Sontaran Stratagem, We Cannot Separate

_**Right, so I was in a very motivated mood lately. I hadn't even started this chapter three days ago, and now it's done. AND it's also longer than usual. It's quite heavy on personal plot. There's something I've had planned... well, basically since I started 'A Life With Rose'... So a VERY long time. I've had 4 days off and it has done wonders. I've started and finished this chapter, written bits of more, I've cleaned about half the house... I have an inspection coming up this weekend, so I REALLY have to do that.**_

_**Anywhoo, read on!**_

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><p>.<p>

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**We Cannot Separate**

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Rose smiled fondly as the Doctor dashed about, inspecting the ATMOS device. He was spouting off techno-babble slow enough that people wouldn't entirely miss it, and then dumbed it down for them afterwards.

Watching him run around with his glasses on and that incense look. Ooh, it gave her so many thoughts and feelings that just weren't decent in public. And whenever a thought like this flashed through her head, the Doctor would look up at her over his glasses, sending another jolt through her.

Alright, this was getting a little ridiculous. She was turning into a sex machine. She never used to be like that. She had urges, yeah, but never this constant. She didn't feel like grabbing the Doctor and pushing him against the nearest surface _every_ time she saw him. And it was just getting worse, and worse. She could barely keep her hands off him. Sometimes she thought it would be better if they stayed in the TARDIS by themselves, or landed on some desolate planet for a while. Just every second of every day she wanted to grab him by that damn tie and-

_No!_ Stop!

She sighed and rubbed at her face as if to scrub those thoughts away. Ugh, she should have gone with Donna. God knows it would be better than this torture. Then again... she was almost scared to leave the Doctor's side. Something odd was going on. It seemed like every time they were apart, she was in physical pain. She didn't know if it happened to him, too, but she was willing to bet it did. Part of her was curious to run from him and prove her theory correct, but another part was sure she was right, and was too afraid to do it.

Even the thought of being separated from him scared her. But it had only been happening since the year that never was. She could hardly imagine what it would have been like if it had started up sooner. They had been split up so often on their past adventures. So, until she found out what was going on, she wasn't going to leave his side.

She was going to ask the Doctor about it. Today. It was best to just outright ask him. She'd learnt the hard way that they shouldn't keep things from each other. Hiding things for the last year was something the both of them deeply regretted. It could have saved them so much pain. So she was going to ask him, and she was going to know. No more secrets.

"You're carrying a gun," the Doctor's harsh voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "I don't like people with guns hanging around me, alright?"

"If you insist," Mace said, dumbfounded by the reaction. And without another word, he left. Martha shot him a small apologetic smile as he past her.

The Doctor looked agitated, she could even feel it radiating off him. She went over to him and placed a hand on his arm, reassuringly.

"Tetchy," Martha said in annoyance.

"Well it's true."

"He's a good man!" she argued.

"People with guns are usually the enemy in my books."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Like you've hated _every_ person holding a gun." She got the feeling she knew what this was about, and it wasn't guns.

The Doctor stood up and sat on the edge of the table, taking the sonic to the device. He ignored her and kept talking to Martha. "You seem quite at home." And there it was.

"If anyone got me used to fighting, it's you," she snapped.

"Oh, right. So it's my fault."

"Martha, don't!" Rose scolded. "Don't you dare. You know perfectly well..." She didn't carry on. Neither of them liked talking, or even thinking about it.

"Well, you got me the job!" Martha said, ignoring her too. Rose threw up her arms. What was she, invisible? "Besides, look at me." The Doctor stopped what he was doing at did as he was told (for once). Am I carrying a gun?"

"Suppose not," he relented.

"It's alright for you two. You can just come and go, but some of us have got to stay behind. Do I've got to work from inside and by staying inside, maybe I stand a chance of making them better."

"Yeah?" He smiled, glad to be proven wrong. "That's more like Martha Jones."

"I learnt from the best," she said, looking a the both of them.

"Good," Rose smiled. She was happy it wasn't as bad as she feared. "It's better than the alternative." Martha's eyes hardened and she gave her friend a firm nod. The Doctor looked between the two of them, taking in the interaction and feeling anxiety from Rose. He was just about to ask them what they were on about when Donna burst in, shoving the plastic curtains out of her way.

"Oi, you lot!" she yelled. "All your storm troopers and your sonics, rubbish! Should have come with me."

"Where have you been?" the Doctor asked her. Mace reappeared beside them, alerted by all the noise she had made.

"Personnel. That's where the weird stuff is happening. In the paperwork. 'Cause I spent years working as a temp, I can find my way around an office blindfolded. And the first thing I noticed..." She held up a blue binder. "Is an empty file."

"Why, what's inside it?" the Doctor asked. "Or what's not inside it?"

"Sick days." She showed them the label before opening it to show them. "There aren't any. Hundreds of people working here, and no one's sick. Not one hangover, man flu, sneaky little shopping trip. Nothing. Not ever. They don't get ill."

Rose raised her eyebrows. Having worked in a shop she knew exactly what Donna meant. _Everyone_ without fail would have a sick day of some kind. Shareen had actually tried to convince her to go shopping instead of work the day that she'd met the Doctor. Something she was now eternally grateful she'd turned down.

"That can't be right," Mace said, grabbing the folder off her.

"You've been checking out the buildings, should have been checking out the workforce."

"I can see why they like you," Martha smiled. The three of them exchanged a smug look. "You are good."

"Super-temp," Donna said cheekily.

"Need to get you a costume," Rose joked.

"Dr Jones, set up a medical post, start examining the workers," mace ordered. "I'll get them sent through."

"Come on, Donna. Give me a hand," Martha said. "Rose, wanna come too?"

"Umm, I – I think I'll stick with the Doctor for now. Later, yeah?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Just... keep it to hand holding." She raised her eyebrows and Rose blushed. Damn, she really wished she could just go with them.

The Doctor smiled at her, grabbing her hand. She could feel a touch of concern run through the bond. '_You okay?'_ he asked her in her mind.

'_Yeah, I'm good. Talk about it later, yeah?'_

_'Yeah.'_

With a squeeze of her hand, he dashed off, dragging her around the corner with him as he caught up to Mace.

"So, this - this ATMOS thing," he said. "Where did it come from?"

"Luke Rattigan himself," Mace told them.

"And who's himself, then?" Rose asked. Mace looked them as if they were a bit daft, which he knew they weren't. "We're a bit out of the loop."

He nodded. "Follow me."

Mace had led them back to the trailer and called out orders to the computer staff. Soon a profile was pulled up of a boy in his late teens.

"Rattigan's right," Rose muttered. "Pointy face and beady eyes... got any rat poison, that should do the job." The Doctor tried to hide his laugh and he gave her a small bump to the side in warning. Mace just huffed and rolled his eyes. Anyone would think he were working with children.

"Child genius," he said. "Invented the 'Fountain 6' search engine when he was twelve years old. Millionaire overnight. Now runs the Rattigan Academy. A private school educating students hand-picked from all over the world."

"A hot house for geniuses."

"Sounds like fun."

"Actually, I wouldn't mind going there." Mace looked at him, puzzled. "I get lonely," he said cheekily.

"So, are we going to some big fancy academy, then?" she asked.

"I'd say so, yeah," he said. "Well, I'd say big fancy academy. You should have seen the Time Lord Academy. Now that was something. Just outside the citadel, about the size of a small village, it was. You would have loved it!" He grabbed her hand and started walking out. "Well, I say loved it. You would have liked to have seen it. All those uptight Time Lords would have bothered you."

"Doctor, where are you going?" Mace's voice made him stop short and turn around.

"We told you, we're going to Rattigan's Academy. I'd quite like to check it out and find out more about this kid. Like how he knows about technology from the 24th century." He turned again, and they carried on walking. It didn't take long for Mace to fall into stride with them.

"Alright then, I will company you. We'll take my car," Mace told them.

"You are not coming with us. I want to talk to this Luke Rattigan, not point a gun at him." Rose gave him a small nudge. He was being just a little too bigoted at the moment. Of course, she had no idea what UNIT used to be like, or why the Doctor wasn't all too fond of them sometimes.

"It's ten miles outside London. How are you going to get there?"

"Then get me a Jeep!"

"According to records, you travel by TARDIS."

"Not always a safe mode of travel," Rose informed the colonel. "The TARDIS is old, and with this one's driving, we could end up there next year by accident."

The Doctor turned to her. "Are you _ever_ going to let that go?"

"Never."

"Ugh," he growled, rolling his eyes before he turned back to Mace. "Besides, if there is a danger of hostile aliens, I think it best to keep a super-duper time travel machine away from the front lines."

"I see. Then you do have weapons, but you choose to keep them hidden."

"That's not what he-"

"Jenkins?!"

"Sir!" a young man called from not far away.

"You will accompany the Doctor and take orders from him."

"Yeah, I don't do orders," he said.

"Any sign of trouble, get Jenkins to declare a Code Red. And good luck, sir." He lifted his hand in salute once more.

"I said, 'no salutes'."

"Now you're giving orders," Mace said as he walked off. Rose cracked up laughing.

"A bit cheeky, you are," he said to the retreating colonel.

"Donna!" Rose said as she noticed the redhead walking towards them.

"Ooh! Donna! Just in time," he cried, rushing over to her and dragging her back towards Rose. "Come on, come on. We're going to the country. Fresh air, geniuses, what more could you ask?"

"I'm not coming with you," she said. "I've been thinking. I'm sorry... I'm going home."

"But..."

"Really?" he said at the same time as Rose.

"I've got to," Donna said. At first Rose had been scared that Donna was leaving them for good, what with the way she'd phrased it. But now, there was something in what she said that Rose recognised. She didn't _look_ like she wanted to leave. She wasn't saying goodbye, she was saying she wanted a visit.

It had been so long since she'd had any family to go back to and visit. And Martha was so caught up in what they were doing, they never really thought... She'd almost forgotten what it was like.

"Well, if that's what you want," the Doctor said. "I mean, it's a bit soon. I had so many places I wanted to take you. The Fifteenth Broken Moon of the Medusa Cascade, the lightening skies of Cotter Palluni's world, the diamond coral reefs of Kataa Flo Ko... Thank you. It's been brilliant. You – you've saved my life in so many ways." Donna nodded and rolled her eyes at Rose, making the blonde laugh. "You're... you're – you're just popping home for a visit. That's what you mean."

"You dumbo," Donna said.

"And then you're coming back." In the background, Rose couldn't stop laughing, making him feel even more embarrassed.

"Do you know what you are? A great, big, outer-space dunce!"

"Yeah."

"Oh god, he is," Rose giggled.

"Alright, you. I get it!" he said. Rose kept laughing. "Shut it!"

Rose bit her lip long enough to stop her laughing, but only so she would be able to speak. "Make me!" They looked at each other, heat and determination in their eyes. Donna could see this leading somewhere she didn't want to see very quickly.

"Enough, you too. Give the eye thing a break, would ya? You're worse than honeymooners."

"You know, the term honeymoon was coined by Time Lords," he told them.

Rose scoffed, having heard enough about the stuffy old race. "Yeah right!"

"Ready when you are, sir," Jenkins informed them.

"And you now what else, you can give me a lift. Come on." The three of them smiled as they got into the Jeep. And then Donna looked at him oddly. "Broken moon of what?"

"I know, I know," he said.

.

The drive out was rather nice. Donna gave directions every now and then, otherwise she just sat back and listened. Rose held the Doctor's hand as he explained about the Medusa Cascade and its twenty moons, sixteen of which were broken. With all the different lights and nebulas, they were a sight to see. The fifteenth was half a chunk of the moon, and the rest was all fine fragments, trailing away from it like the tail of a comment. No one was sure how _all_ of them were broken. But apparently he had broken one of them when the TARDIS had gone off course.

"This will do," Donna said, getting Jenkins to pull over. The Doctor jumped out, and Rose went to follow. "Oh, don't worry. You're skinny enough. I'll just squish over." And she shimmied her way over top of Rose and out. Then she looked back. "Actually, do you want to come? I'm sure granddad would love to meet you."

"Oh... I um. I would love to... but um... I'm not feeling the best right now," she lied. "Some other time? Maybe later, after all this is over?"

Donna smiled at her sympathetically. She'd known that something had been bothering her friend a while, and recently she seemed reluctant to leave the Doctor's side. She wasn't going to push her.

"Alright, then. I'll walk the rest of the way. See you two back at the factory, yeah?"

"See ya!" Rose called.

"Bye!" the Doctor said, swinging up into the Jeep.

"And you be careful!" she called back.

Grinning, he sad back down beside Rose as they drove off. "Are you okay," he asked her. "I know you're not sick, but something's bothering you."

"It's okay, really," she said, placing her hand back on top of his. '_I'm just a little concerned about something, is all.'_ She switched to talking to him in their heads, wanting the conversation to be private.

'_Is this what you wanted to talk about before?_'

'_Yeah. It's just um... Have you noticed? Every time we get separated it... hurts._'

'_Ah... yeah,_' He rubbed at the back of his neck, looking almost guilty. '_I knew this was going to happen, I just didn't think it would happen so soon._'

'_So you know what it is?_'

'_Yep, yep. It's something to do with our biology. An... erm... Imperative._'

'_Something to do with Time Lords?_'

'_Yeah. It's something to do with... well, it has something to do with conception... children._'

'_Oh god, please tell me my body isn't trying to make me have a baby._'

'Uh_... well, essentially, yes. It is._'

Rose sighed. '_I guess that explains why I'm constantly horny._'

'_Yep, that's part of it. See, my people used to have this legend. The Curse of Pythia. See, before Rassilon ruled Gallifrey, it was ruled by a matriarch called The Pythia. She had a following of sisters, and usually they had the gift of visions, able to tap into the Vortex and see the time-lines. Something you've done once or twice, but she could do it with perfect control. As the years went by, this talent faded and the last Pythia couldn't see anything. It was because of Rassion, and as a result, she cursed_'_ the Gallifreyan race to be sterile. Rassilon took over as the leader of Gallifrey. He was the first Lord President and more or less created the Time Lords._'

'_Right. Sounds about accurate. Hell hath no fury like a queen overthrown._'

He gave a small chuckle. '_You're right there. That's the legend, and it was more or less accurate. Only, towards the end she had a talented Gallifreyan with strong psychic abilities spy on Rassion. Her plans failed, and in revenge, she went to the planet Karn. It was once a colony planet of Gallifrey. It's home to the Sacred Flame and the Elixir of Life, two powerful things that only the Sisterhood of Karn know the secrets of. Well, of course, back then there was no Sisterhood of Karn. They were The Pythia's followers, they went with her and stayed after her death. She used the powers there to make the Gallifreyan race sterile before throwing herself into the chasm below her temple. After that, the Gallifreyans created the looms. And as Time Lords became more prestigious, they were selected for them more often, the more base instincts bred out._'

'_So, no kids meant no sex. Geez, no wonder they were such a bunch of stiffs._'

'_Oi!_'

'_So what's this curse got to do with the Imperative?_'

'_Well, it turned out that the "curse" wasn't as extensive as first thought. Back after it was first done, many still enjoyed themselves... physically. It wasn't bred out for a millennium or so. And in that time, there were a few rare cases of a natural birth. They tended to have a little bit more talent than loomed children, so the council voted that all couples must attempt to conceive a child for at least a year before going to the looms. And of course, all couples were arranged and required to have at least one child by the time I was born. Over time it just... became part of our biology. Something that was triggered._'

'_Triggered? By what?_'

'_Well, traditionally the arraigned couple would be married by our customs, and then they bond._'

'_But, we bonded before the year that never was and it never kicked in then_,' she said.

'_Yeah...' He tugged at his ear. 'When I say married and bonded... Gallifreyan weddings weren't too horribly different from Earth weddings. The Imperative didn't kick in till after the wedding was... consummated._'

'_Ohh! So it's the sex... or... bonding and sex. Because we're not married, right?_'

'_Not by Gallifreyan or Earth standards, no._'

'_Okay, so that explains the Imperative. You still haven't told me exactly what it is._'

'_Well, first thing I should tell you. It goes on roughly for a year._'

'_**What?!**_'

'_I know, I know! As you've noticed, it causes physical pain to be separated. Basically, your body is trying to do everything it can to become pregnant. And clearly that can't happen if you're not near your partner. Also, as you know, Time Lords weren't all to keen on intimacy. So, our bodies came up with a solution to that as well. By putting them into a state of near permanent arousal._'

Rose sniggered. '_That must have been fun for them._'

'_Mmm_,' he laughed. '_They didn't like it very much, no. In fact, it was quite common for couples to go on holiday for a year after the wedding. The most popular places were the Honey Moons of Severia IIIX._'

'_Honey Moons... Honeymoon... you really weren't kidding!_'

'_Nope!_'

'_Maybe __**we**__ should go on a honeymoon._'

'_Rose Tyler, going on a honeymoon before we're married? What would people say?! No, we're getting married first. __**Then**__ I'll take you too the Honey Moons. The real deal._'

'_Did you just... I.. We..._'

'_Huh? Oh, erm. Well, I... I mean... It would be nice... If – if you want to. Yeah._'

'_Doctor... are you asking me to marry you?_'

'_Well, we're already married in about fifty-three cultures. We're bonded. Why not make it proper?_' He fidgeted nervously, not having planned to have said any of this.

'_Earth standards or Gallifreyan standards?_' she asked, still completely stunned.

'_Why not both._' He could feel the shock and delight running through her.

'_You – you sure?_'

'_Yeah. I'd rather like it,_' he smiled fondly at her.

'_Y-yeah. Alright then._' She gave a breathless laugh out loud, then she crashed her lips to his. They were both grinning like idiots by the time she pulled back. '_Hang on,_' she said, her smile slipping a bit. '_**Will **__I get pregnant?_'

'_Mmm... I don't know. It was __**extremely**__ rare for a natural born. I was the first in nine generations._'

'_You were a natural born?!_'

'_Yep!_' he grinned. '_So, we'll just have to see. If not, we can always keep trying. It may happen after the Imperative is over. And if not... If maybe one day you want some kids and we can't... well, there are other ways._'

'_Yeah... but a child isn't exactly the best thing to have on the TARDIS right now. I mean, it's a dangerous life..._'

'_Mmm... that's true. Maybe it's best that things stay as they are for now._'

'_Yeah_.' She leant against him, a small smile on her face. She was a lot less worried now that she knew what was happening. And better yet... she was engaged!

There weren't really words that could quite describe how she felt right now, so she felt content simply sharing them with the Doctor as she snuggled into his side.

And then, it wasn't long till a fancy mansion came into view.

.

.

.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yes. Yes, I finally did it. Actually, there were two plot points I've had planned from the beginning. The proposal (of some kind), and the Imperative. Now, if you know at least SOME of the Time Lord history, about half of that is true. The Imperative is ENTIRELY my idea, with little bits of fact to back it up. Also, it's my own personal thing that the Doctor is natural born. The show itself is not sure on how he was born, some episodes saying he was loomed, the movie saying he's half human, and there are few other things I'm missing to. But for the plot purposes of this story, he is natural born.<strong>_

_**Right! So, now I'm going to clean a bit, then I'll probably work on the next chapter of 'Gaps' since I've written most of it out on my notebooks at work (during my breaks).**_

_**Hope you liked it!**_


	23. SS, Atmospheric Emissions Killing System

_**Hey everyone!**_

_**Okay, got a couple of things to talk about today. First off, this is a REALLY long chapter. Most of my chapters are about 5 pages long. This is 8 pages. Then again, the episode is only 3 chapters. I don't know, I guess there were a lot of scenes without the Doctor in it. A lot of Sontaran plot. So I thought, rather than do two short chapters, I'd give you one long one.**_

_**Second thing, I am UBER excited right now. Today I handed in my resignation letter to the Supermarket from hell. I only have two more weeks till I never have to step foot in there again. And next week I am starting a new job at PORSE as a a junior graphics design assistant. My aunty works in the same department. And I will get to wear my own clothes, paint my nails, go back to my home village Havelock North everyday. And I'm doing something I will actually enjoy. And to top it off, the hours are fixed and it's only part time, so I will have every afternoon free. This means more writing time!**_

_**Okay, third thing is just to clarify. I've said this before, but a lot of people were commenting about the wedding in reviews. You can imagine anything you want for the wedding, but I refuse to write it. I am sorry, but I am NOT a wedding person. I do not like attending them, and I mos definitely do not like writing them. I find them way too cheesy and cliché to deal with. I am going to mention things about it. But the story will pick up after their honeymoon.**_

_**Actually, on the note of weddings, last month my mum's partner of 6 years FINALLY proposed to her. She hasn't set a date since there's a lot on for our family, but she's planning everything. I'm going to be one of her bridesmaids... and she's making me wear pink. HELP ME!**_

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

.

**Atmospheric Emissions Killing System**

.

.

"So then," Rose said, turning to their driver. "Jenkins. Got a first name?"

"Ross, ma'am," he replied.

"Ross... I like it. Much better than last name basis, too."

"Mmm, so," the Doctor said. "What can you tell us about this academy?"

"UNIT's been watching the Rattigan Academy for years," he said. "It's all a bit Hitler Youth. Exercise at dawn and classes and special diets."

'_Turn left_' the sat-nav told them. Rose tapped at it, noticing that the brand label on it said 'ATMOS'. She pointed it out to the Doctor.

"Ross, one question. If UNIT think that ATMOS is dodgy-"

"How come we've got it in the Jeeps?"

"Yeah."

"Ha, tell me about it. They're fitted as standard on all government vehicles. We can't get rid of them until we can prove there's something wrong."

'_Turn right.'_

"Drives me around the bend," he said at the same time.

"Oh, nice one!"

"You timed that perfectly," Rose laughed. "But I get you, I wouldn't really be a fan of one of these things. Could you imagine one of those in the TARDIS? _Twist the paperweight left. Three seconds to the 18__th__ century._"

"I think it's a _little _ more complicated than that," the Doctor rolled his eyes, hiding his smile. At this point, they drove up the driveway of the academy and the full thing came into view.

'_This is your final destination._'

"Mmm, fancy," Rose said. "Did that used to be a castle?"

"He's got quite the set up, doesn't he?"

They climbed out of the Jeep and started off towards the building. The academy was surrounded by a vast amount of lawns. A bunch of people in red tracksuits were jogging around the property. And a young man stood watching them, dressed simply in jeans and a t-shirt.

"That's him," Ross said, nodding to the man in casual dress. They continued up the path, only turning off it when they neared him.

"Is it PE?" the Doctor asked him. "I wouldn't mind a kick-around. Got my daps on."

"Speak for yourself," Rose snorted. "I do enough running with you as it is. I've gone down three or four dress sizes since I met this bloke," she muttered to Ross.

"I suppose you're the Doctor," Luke said, turning to face them.

"Yep. Hello. And this is my fiancée, Rose. Blimey, we really _do_ do that a lot, don't we?" Rose giggled, a blush rising on her cheeks. "What?"

"You just called me your fiancée."

"Well, you are," he grinned. "Ooh! I'm going to have to get you a ring, aren't I? Do you want a ring? I-"

"You're commanding officer phoned ahead," Rattigan cut him off. The disdain on his face was very clear.

"Oh, I haven't got a commanding officer. Have you?" The boy just stared at him stonily. "Oh, this is Ross. Say hello, Ross."

"Afternoon, sir," Ross nodded.

Excitedly, the Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and bounced towards the big doors. "Let's have a look, then! I can _smell_ genius... in a good way."

"Oh yeah, genius smells good," Rose laughed, unconsciously breathing in his scent a bit deeper. She sighed out dreamily, and had to shake her head to clear it. During the Imperative did they give off pheromones, or was she just _really_ attracted to that smell?

She was so distracted by it that she barely noticed they had walked through a good bit of academy until they came to a room that was filled with students working on some very advanced projects. One of them kept shooting up a ball of fire every few seconds.

"Oh, now!" the Doctor said enthusiastically as they walked into the room. "That's clever, look!" He slipped on his glasses so he could get a better look at the experiments. Soon he dashing all over the room to look at them. "Single-molecule fabric. How thin is that?! You could back a tent in a thimble. Oh! Gravity simulators! Terraforming, biospheres, nano-tech steel construction! Ha-ha, this is brilliant!" Rose looked up from tapping a glass ball filed with colourful glowing gasses to grin at him. This room was probably Christmas for him. "But you know," he carried on, now looking at Rattigan. "With equipment like this, you could, oh, I dunno... move to another planet or something."

"If only that was possible," Rattigan said.

"If only that _were_ possible," he corrected, taking the glasses off. "Conditional clause."

Rattigan's face contorted, as if he was trying to restrain a glare. Instead he stiffened up, head held high. "I think you better come with me." The Doctor raised his eyebrows at Ross and Rose, he clearly found the boy a piece of work. He led them out of that room and into another not too far away. This room was huge and lavishly decorated. "You're smarter than the usual UNIT grunts, I'll give you that."

"A grunt?!" Rose almost laughed. When talking about the Doctor, a grunt is the last thing that would come to mind.

"He called you a grunt!" the Doctor said to Ross, sounding very offended. "Don't call Ross, a grunt, he's nice. We like Ross. Look at this place..."

"Could fit my whole house in here!" Rose exclaimed. "Well, not _my_ house. My mum's hou... her... old... house..." A pang of sadness ran through her. She usually tried not to think of her mother. Travelling with the Doctor was good for that, because life was always full of distractions. But she missed her so much. She missed her idle chatter about men or what was on the telly. She missed having tea with her. Heck, she even missed their arguments. She was stuck in another universe with Mickey and Pete, and by now she would have had her baby. And Rose would never see any of them again.

Feeling such a strong emotion through the bond, the Doctor looked up at her, giving her a small sad but reassuring smile.

"What exactly do you want?" Rattigan suddenly snapped at them.

The Doctor began to wander about, still looking at the big room. "I was just thinking, what a responsible eighteen year old. Inventing zero-carbon cars. Saving the world..."

"It takes a man with vision."

"Mmm, blinkered vision. 'Cause ATMOS means more people driving, more cars, more petrol, end result: the oil's going to run out faster than ever. The ATMOS system could make things worse."

"Yeah. Well, see, that's a tautology," he said speaking very fast, sounding a lot like a bratty little child. "You can't say ATMOS system, because it stands for 'Atmospheric Emission System'. So you're saying 'Atmospheric Emission System System'. Do you see, Mr Conditional Clause?"

"It's been a long time since anyone's said no to you, isn't it?" the Doctor said evenly.

"I'm still right, though."

"Wow," Rose muttered in disbelief.

"Not easy, is it? Being clever?" the Doctor said to him. "You look at the world and you connect things, random things, and think, 'why can't anyone else see it? The rest of the world is so slow'."

"Yeah."

"You're on your own."

"I know."

"But not with this," he suddenly said in a brighter tone, pulling an ATMOS device from his pocket. "'Cause there's no way you invented this single-handed. It might be Earth technology, but that's like finding a mobile phone in the Middle Ages." He tossed it to Ross, who quickly caught it, then he headed towards the big odd purple square thing that sat in the room. "No, no. I'll tell you what it's like! It's like finding this in someone's front room. Albeit, a very big front room."

"Why? What is it?" Ross asked. Rose was beside him, waiting for an answer too. She'd looked at that thing a few times herself. At first it could have been mistaken for some type of modern art or something, but it was clearly a device of some sort.

"Nah! Just looks like a thing, doesn't it? People don't question things. They just think, 'Oh, it's a thing!'"

"Leave it alone!" Rattigan shouted at him.

"Me, I make these connections," he said, walking inside it. "And this to me looks like..." he pressed a button. "A teleport pod." Then he disappeared in a spark of light.

"Doctor!" Rose cried, slightly shocked by the disappearance. But that was quickly overcome by the horrible pain that hit her body as it registered that he was gone. "Ah!" she doubled over, almost falling to the ground. Ross caught her and tried to hold her up.

"Rose!" he said in worry. He looked up at Rattigan, fury in his eyes. "What did that do to her. What did you do?"

Luke was looking confused and rather freaked out. He held his hands up in surrender. "Nothing! It was wasn't me, I swear!"

Just as suddenly, the Doctor reappeared, he was clutching at his chest in pain, but the look on his face was one of worry.

"Ross, get out. Luke, you'd better come with me!" He grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her back with him. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Just don't ever do that again."

"Promise." As he spoke, the teleport pod lit up again and someone very short covered in armour stepped out. Instantly the Doctor used the sonic to short out the controls.

"Sontaran!" he shouted at them. "That's your name, isn't it? Your a Sontaran. How did I know that, eh? Fascinating, isn't it? Isn't that worth keeping me alive?"

"I order you to surrender in the name of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce," Ross said immediately, aiming his gun at the alien.

"That's not going to work," the Doctor muttered. He turned to the Sontaran. "Cordalaine signal, am I right? Copper excitation stopping the bullets," he explained.

"How do you know so much?" the Sontaran demanded. His voice was rather rough and sounded kind of odd.

"Well..." he said, walking back and leaning against Luke's desk.

"Who is he?" he demanded of Rattigan.

"He didn't give his name."

"This isn't typical Sontaran behaviour, is it?" the Doctor went on. "Hiding? Using teenagers? Stopping bullets? A Sontaran should face bullets with dignity! Shame on you!" He was clearly mocking him.

"You dishonour me!" the Sontaran said, his tone stiff and offended.

"Then show yourself."

"I will look into my enemy's eyes." He reached up and removed his helmet with a soft hiss. When it was off, they were faced with a brown-ish dome shaped head. He didn't seem to have a neck, he just looked like... well, a lump with a very angry face.

"Oh my God," Ross gasped.

"Okay, you told me about these guys, you never said they were lumps of playdough," Rose said to the Doctor. But the Doctor didn't reply to her, he just looked firmly into the Sontaran's eyes.

"And your name?"

"General Staal, of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet. Staal the Undefeated," he replied proudly.

"That's not a very good nickname. What if you do get defeated? "Staal the Not-Quite-So-Undefeated-Anymore-But-Never-Mind?" At this, Rose grinned, a bit of a giggle escaping, and Ross scoffed.

"He looks like a potato," Ross said. "A baked potato. A talking baked potato."

"Now, Ross, don't be rude. You look like a pink weasel to him."

"Pink and yellow?" Rose grinned cheekily.

"Yep! Hmm, Rose Tyler the pink and yellow weasel... That would be funny to see." He picked up a near by tennis racket and began to bounce a ball on it. "See, the Sontarans are the finest soldiers in the galaxy. Dedicated to a life of warfare. A clone race grown in batches of millions with only one weakness-"

"Sontarans have no weakness!" Staal said angrily.

"No, it's a good weakness," the Doctor defended.

"Aren't you meant to be clever?" Luke said. "Only an idiot would provoke him."

"Only an idiot would work with him," Rose fired back. Rattigan clenched his fists in anger, but yet again, the Doctor continued, playing with the ball and racket all the while.

"The Sontarans are fed by a probic vent in the back of the neck. That's their weak spot, which means they always have to face their enemy in battle. Isn't that brilliant? They can never turn their backs!"

"We stare into the face of death!"

"Yeah? Well, stare at this!"

He suddenly hit the ball behind Staal. It bounced off the back of the teleport pod and straight into where the probic vent was. Staal staggered and cried out. They didn't stay to see him fall to the floor, they sprinted out. Luke crying out behind them. They kept running till they reached the Jeep. Quick as the could, they piled in and drove off.

.

"Greyhound Forty to Trap One," the Doctor said into the radio as they drove. "Repeat: can you hear me? Over."

"Why is it not working?" Ross said.

"Maybe the Sontaran's are jambing it," Rose suggested.

"Must be. And if they can trace that, they can isolate the ATMOS."

'_Turn Left'._

"Try going right," he told Ross.

"It says left."

"I know, so go right."

Ross tried turning the wheel. When nothing happened, he let go, the car still continuing to drive. "I've got no control. It's driving itself. It won't stop." He stopped trying the break and moved to the door. "The doors are locked!"

The Doctor started sonicing the sat-nav. "Argh! It's deadlocked! I can't stop it!"

'_Turn Left_'. Automatically, the Jeep swerved.

"Yeah, let me..." Ross said, smashing the GPS.

"The sat-nav's just a box. Its wired through the whole car," the Doctor said.

"Right, so time to start on the windows," Rose said, pulling a mallet out of her pocket.

"I'm not even going ask about you and those things anymore," he muttered as she leaned over him and started bashing it against the glass.

"Doctor, sonic it, like we did at Adipose Industries!" Just as he started to do as she said, the were all bumped about as the Jeep went off road.

"We're heading for the river!" Ross cried.

"Going to have to be faster than breaking a window. ATMOS, are you programmed to contradict my orders?"

'_Confirmed_'.

"Anything I say, you'll ignore it?"

'_Confirmed_'.

"Then drive into the river. I order you to drive into the river! Do it! Drive into the river!"

The breaks screeched as it did the opposite of what he told it to. They came to a halt right before they toppled off the edge of the bank. At that moment, the doors opened and they almost fell out in their scramble to get away. The sat-nav was going crazy with its instructions as it overloaded.

"Get down!" the Doctor cried as the ran.

The three of them dove to the ground, and he covered Rose with his body. The sound of the sat-nav going crazy got faster and faster. Finally it got to that point where it couldn't last any longer. The braced themselves...

'_Pifft!'_

They looked up at the sound of the pathetic hiss.

"Oh, it that it?" he said.

"A bit disappointing," Rose said.

"Very underwhelming."

"Like Belgium."

"What?" Ross asked, confused by the conversation.

"It's alright, Ross. Just a bit of a joke. So... What do we do now?"

"Well," Rose said, pushing him off her so she could look around. "I don't think we're too far from Chiswick. We could walk there. Meet up with Donna."

The Doctor sighed. "Oh, alright. Best we get started then."

* * *

><p><strong>?...DW...?<strong>

* * *

><p>They walked down the roads looking at all the houses. It was a pretty nice street.<p>

"So, erm... what one is hers?"

Rose rolled her eyes. Of course he wouldn't remember the address. She was lucky he had remembered where _she _lived the first time. "This way." She led them down the next street and up a path to a house. She rung the doorbell and the Doctor came to stand beside her. Not long the door swung open to reveal Donna.

"Hi," she grinned at her friend. The Doctor, however, had a different approach.

"You would not believe the day we're having."

"Really?" Donna said in amusement, seeing the look on Rose's face.

"He had to _walk_," she said in mock horror. "From all they way just outside of Chiswick! It was horrifying!"

"Alright, enough, you," he said, lightly hitting her up the back of the head as she laughed. Her hair floofed over her face, making her laugh more, and Donna joined in. "Stop it, we have a serious issue!" This just made Donna laugh more.

"No, no... he's right," Rose said attempting to calm down. "Luke Rattigan just tried to kill us."

"Kill you?!"

"With the ATMOS system. Know anyone who's got it in their car, we need to look at it," the Doctor said.

"Uh, yeah. Mine," she said, pointing out to a blue car on the street. They recognised it as the same car in the ally by the TARDIS that day.

"Thanks." He walked off down towards the car. Ross headed in the same direction when he saw him move. Rose and Donna gave each other a look before they followed.

Over by the car, the Doctor was examining started to examine it, looking underneath it at the ATMOS before he got up and opened the bonnet. As he was doing this, Rose got out her cellphone to call Martha. She'd need an update on the situation.

"I'll requisition us a vehicle," Ross told them.

"Anything without ATMOS," the Doctor replied. "And don't point your gun at people!"

Ross nodded as he ran off.

"You're too hard on him," Rose scolded. "Ross is a sweetie. Ugh, she's not answering."

"Is it them?" they heard the voice of an older man, accompanied with the sound of footsteps running towards them. "Is it them? Is it Rose and the Doctor?" He came over to them and Rose blinked in shock. He blinked back at her before he turned to the Doctor. "Oh, it's you!" he cried, pointing between the two of them.

"Hi," Rose said in surprise.

"Who?" The Doctor looked up, slightly confused, but then surprised delight took over his face. "Oh! ...It's you!" He stopped inspecting the car and went to stand by them,

"What, have you met before?!" Donna cried.

"Yeah, Christmas Eve. These two disappeared right in front of me."

"And you never said?!"

"Well, you never said!" He turned to the both of them. "Wilf, sir, ma'am. Wilfred Mott. You two must be some of them aliens."

"Well, yeah, but don't shout it out." He shook his hand. "Nice to meet you properly, Wilf."

"Brilliant," Rose grinned, leaning in and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Wilf gasped, his hand hovering to the spot she kissed him, but he also seemed intent on the hand too.

"Ah, an alien hand," he said.

Donna rolled her eyes with an affectionate smile. Then she pulled out her phone and dialled. "Here, how about I give Martha a go? What is it, 'Sonterruns'?"

"Son_tar_ans," he corrected her, elongating the 'a'. "But there's got to be more to it. They can't be just remote controlling cars. That's not enough. Is anyone answering?"

"Hold on." Finally someone picked it up.

"Don't tell me... Donna Noble!" Martha said.

"Martha! Hold on, he's here." She passed the phone over to the Doctor.

"Martha, tell Colonel Mace it's the Sontarans. They're in the file. Code Red Sontarans. But if they're inside the factory, tell him not to start shooting. UNIT will get massacred. I'll get back as soon as I can. You got that?"

"Code Red Sontarans. Gotcha," she said. Then she hung up.

"Right," he said. "Time to get back onto this." He went back under the bonnet of the car and began fiddling with the settings on the sonic.

"You've tried sonicking it before, you didn't find anything," Donna reminded him.

"Yeah, but now I know it's Sontaran, I know what I'm looking for."

"You said it was human technology. Future technology," Rose said, slightly confused.

"It is."

"But it's Sontaran?"

"I'm not explaining this right. It's human tech, but if the Sontaran's have had a hand in it they've probably layered over some of their own tech."

"So, something could be hidden? Like a secret compartment?"

"Yep."

"The thing is, Doctor," Wilf suddenly interrupted, "that Donna is my only grandchild. You gotta promise me you're going to take care of her."

"She takes care of me," he joked.

"It's a two person job," Rose added.

"Oh, yeah, that's my Donna. She was always bossing us around, even when she was tiny. 'The Little General' we used to call her."

"Yeah, don't start," she warned.

"And some of the boys she used to turn up with. A different one every week. Yeah, who was that one with the nail varnish?"

Rose scoffed. She had had a few similar experiences when she was younger. That had been after Jimmy. She'd gone a bit... wild. And it was Mickey who had pulled her head back in.

Damn, she missed them all so much.

"Matthew Richards," Donna answered. "He lives in Kilburn now... with a man."

Suddenly they were all surprised when spikes shot out of a grid of holes in the device. "Whoa! It's a temporal pocket!" the Doctor cried. "I knew there was something else in there, It's hidden just a second out of sync with real time."

"You can do that?!" Rose said in surprise.

"Yeah, handy little trick. Could even do it with the sonic... actually, even your little one could do it."

"Really? Sweet!"

"But what's it hiding?" Donna asked.

"I don't know, men and their cars!" The voice caused them all to turn and look at the sound of the voice. Syliva Noble was walking out to them. Rose was – thankfully - blocked by Donna. Last time things hadn't gone so well with Sylvia. "Some times I think if I was a car..." That's when she spotted the Doctor. "Oh, it's you! Doctor... what was it?"

"Just Doctor," Rose told her, giving her a small nervous wave.

The Doctor waved at her too, without looking. "Yeah, that's me."

"Have you met them as well?" Wilf said in surprise.

"Dad, it's the couple from the wedding! When you were laid up with Spanish flu. I'm warning you, last time those two turned up, it was a disaster!"

"Be worse if we didn't," Rose said. And just as she said this, gas began spewing from the ATMOS device.

"Get back!" he shouted at them. They all shuffled back a good few metres and watched as the gas continued to spurt out in a mass cloud. It was hard not to breath it in and Rose nearly gaged. It tasted toxic. Beside her, the Doctor held up the sonic and began to use it. Soon it shorted out and the gas stopped spewing out, but still hung around. "That'll stop it."

"I told you! He's blown up the car! Who is he anyway? What sort of doctor blows up cars?"

"Oh, not now, Mum!"

"Oh, should I make an appointment?" she said huffily, before storming off.

"Blimey, she's worse than Mum," Rose muttered.

"That wasn't just exhaust fumes. Some sort of gas. Artificial gas."

"And it's aliens, is it? Aliens?" It was adorable how excited he seemed by the prospect.

"But if it's poisonous... Then they've got poisonous gas in every car on Earth," Donna said.

"Possibly 800 million cars filled with poisonous gas," Rose said. "That's enough to cover the Earth anywhere there's lots of cars. No one would be able to breath..." They looked around the street. Every single car here had ATMOS installed.

"It's not safe," Wilf told them. "I'm going to get it off the street." He jumped into the car and they heard the locks click.

"No, don't!" Donna cried, rushing to his door. Suddenly, the gas started pouring thickly out of the exhaust pipe. "Turn it off! Granddad, get out of there!"

"I can't! It's locked!" he called. He held up the key to show her. "It's the aliens again!" Donna tried to get the door, while Wilf banged on the window and honked the horn.

"What's he doing?" Silvia shouted from the front door. "What's he done?"

"They've isolated it!" he said, trying to sonic it again.

"There's gas inside the car! He's gonna choke! Doctor!"

The Doctor and Rose joined her at the door and he tried to open it with the sonic. When that didn't seem to be working, Rose pulled out the mallet again.

"Is that from the TARDIS?!" Donna said.

"It won't open!" They heard honking and turned to see that every car on the street was spewing out gas too. "It's the whole world."

"Help me!" Wilf cried weakly as the Doctor ran back around the front. Rose kept trying the window, taking out her own sonic pen to try and boost it. The Doctor tried ripping cables out of the car and the device, but nothing was working. Nothing would stop it. They couldn't get Wilf out.

"Doctor!"

There was nothing they could do.

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><p><em><strong>Thanks everyone! Here's hoping the next chapter is out quicker. I'm also not too far off the next chapter of Gaps.<strong>_


	24. Poison in the Sky, Imposter

_**Hi everyone!**_

_**I am SO sorry it took so long for this one. I had next to NO time to write in the last two weeks. I moved out of my old flat and had to scrub it clean. It was a pretty big job, especially since my annoying old flatmates left half of their mess and stuff behind. But if I did get it clean enough, there's a chance I will get my $880 bond back. That much money would be SO sweet right now.**_

_**On the other hand, my new flat is nice and warm (unlike that damp hole that made me sick almost year round), our room is huge, and our flatmates are cool. We just have to sort our room now. Also, my new job is the BEST! I am absolutely loving it, an may even be getting more hours soon. It's just such a cruisey atmosphere.**_

_**Another reason I've been a bit slow on the updates is my other stories. I have started (many) collaborations with my friend Farhana. We've started posting on our joint account, and even have a joint tumblr. Check us out. We're called 'Krazy Tyler Kreations'!**_

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><p>.<p>

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***The Poison Sky***

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**Imposter**

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"He's going to choke!" Donna cried out at them. She banged at the car before turning her scared eyes on the pair of them. "Doctor!"

"It won't open!" he grunted.

"Rose! Please! Do something!"

"We're trying, Donna," she said in worry. "We won't let anything happen to him. Promise."

The Doctor ran around the back and tried sonicking something under the car. Nothing was working. Just then, Sylvia strode out towards them and slammed the bonnet shut. Only then did they see the big axe she was holding, and not a second later, she swung it down onto the windsheild. It shattered and Wilf ducked and covered to avoid the rain of glass falling onto him. All of them were too shocked to speak.

"Well, don't just stand there! Get him out!" she ordered.

Quickly, they scrambled around to the front of the car and helped pull him out, trying to avoid him leaning on the glass. Donna fussed over him a second, trying to brush all the glass off him. But she, Wilf and Sylvia were coughing too much.

"You should get inside," Rose told them.

"What about you? Why aren't you chocking?" Donna asked, her eyes starting to water.

"Um... something to do with our lungs. Respiratory bypass. The Doctor knows more about it. He can control his, mine just goes on instinct. It basically helps up hold our breath for a very long time, and filter out some smells and gasses. We'll be fine. Let's get you guys in." She and the Doctor ducked under Wilf's arms and helped him back, Donna and Sylvia walking ahead.

"Thanks," he said.

"I can't believe you've got an axe!" Donna said to her mother.

"Burglars!" Sylvia defended her choice.

"Once you're in the house, just try and close off all the doors and widows. Anywhere the gas could get in," the Doctor told them. Behind him, Ross pulled up in a black cab.

"Doctor!" he called out the window. "This is all I could find that hasn't got ATMOS."

"Good!" he cried, grabbing Rose's hand and dashing towards the cab. "Donna, you coming or do you want to stay with your family?"

"Yeah, I'm coming."

"Donna! Don't go!" her mother cried. "Look what happens every time those two appear Stay with us, please."

"You go my darling!" Wilf called over top.

"Dad!"

"Don't listen to her. You go with Rose and the Doctor! That's my girl!"

Donna gave a smile to him as she jumped in the cab. She felt horrible leaving them there, but she would be more help with the pair of them. If she went with her two time travellers, she'd not only be able to help her family, she'd be able to help stop this. And she wanted her family safe. She smiled even more when she saw her grandfather waving to them, before ducking into the house.

She was going to make sure she stopped this.

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><p><strong>?...DW...?<strong>

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><p>Ross drove fast, and with no one else on the roads it was easy to speed through to the factory. He sped up to the entrance at a speed that was probably a bit too dangerous, and they were already jumping out the second it stopped.<p>

"Ross, look after yourself," the Doctor told him. "Get inside the building."

"Will do," he replied. He picked up the radio to report. "Greyhound 40 to Trap 1, I have just returned the Doctor to base safe and sound. Over."

The barrier arm went up and Ross drove away into the base. Donna gave a heaving cough, and Rose patted her on the back in concern.

"The air is disgusting!" she gasped.

"It's not so bad for us," the Doctor told her. "Go on, get inside the TARDIS."

"Doctor, she doesn't have a key yet," she reminded him.

"Oh! I never gave you a key!" He pulled one from his pocket. "Keep that. Go on, that's yours. Quite a big moment really!"

"Maybe we should start carrying confetti for times like these," Rose joked.

"Yeah, maybe we can get sentimental _after_ the worlds finished choking to death."

"Good idea."

"Probably best." He grabbed her hand and they started to head towards the factory.

"Where are you going?" Donna asked them.

"To stop a war!" he called back. And with that, they ran in opposite directions.

.

They burst into the head quarters with a bang of the doors, causing almost everyone to look up. There was an odd smell in the room that made Rose scrunch up her nose.

"Right then, here I am. Good," the Doctor said swiftly and firmly. "Whatever you do, Colonel mace, do not engage the Sontarans in battle. There is nothing they like better than a war. Just leave this to me."

"And what are you going to do?"

"I've got the TARDIS, we're gonna get on board their ship."

"Doctor-" she said.

"Yeah, I know," he said to her. She watched as his eyes darted around the room to fall on Martha. '_Not a word about it aloud. Something is going on._'

She nodded in reply, then they made their way over to their friend. The smell was stronger over here. The Doctor placed his hand on Martha's shoulder, making her whip around.

"Come on!" he said to her.

.

It didn't take them long to get to the ally where the TARDIS was. But as they ran around the corner, it was nowhere in sight.

"But... where's the TARDIS?" Martha said, looking about.

Rose squeezed the Doctor's hand as they went to the spot it was. As she breathed in, she tasted something strange that made her stick out her tongue.

"Taste that, in the air? Yecch! That sort of metal tang."

"Yeah," she replied.

"Teleport exchange. It's the Sontarans, they've taken it. I'm stuck on Earth... like and ordinary person. Like a human! How rubbish is that! Sorry, no offence. But come on!"

"None taken," Rose muttered. Her brow creased in worry. "But, Doctor, what about Donna?"

"Oh, she'll be fine. She's at home with her family. Not much can happen there... I hope." Rose shot him a confused look but quickly realised that he was trying to trick someone. Did they have bug somewhere?

"Donna's gone home?" Martha said.

"Oh, only for a visit. She'll be back later. She's not like you, Martha. She's not a soldier." Martha smiled and Rose blinked in surprise. Martha hated being referred to as a soldier.

"But, I don't get it," she said. "The TARDIS has extrapolator shielding. How did they find it?"

"Eh?" Martha said in confusion.

"Special type of shielding I attached to it. Bit like an extension of the perception filter, but it works on machinery. They shouldn't have been able to detect it," he explained. He stared at her, and he realised something. Rose had a point. How _did_ they find it. Someone would have had to _know. _Someone would have had to tell them... Someone who knew where it was. Martha had been acting strange a while now, and that smell around her.

"What?" she asked him. Oh! He'd been staring.

"I'm just wondering, have you phoned your family and Tom?"

"No, what for?"

"To warn them," Rose said. "Tell them about the gas. Make sure they stay inside and block up anywhere air could get in. They may not know." She didn't understand what was up with her friend. She was acting really strange... and that smell was still hanging about... was it her? Something was definitely wrong.

"'Course I will. Yeah," she said. "But what about the TARDIS?"

"Oh, we'll find a way to get her back," Rose said. "We always do."

"Yep!" he said, popping the 'p' more than usual. "Right. So, avanti!" He nodded his head to the side, signalling them off. They began to run back to the base.

'_Avanti?_' she asked him in his head.

'_I was seeing something_.'

'_Well, she didn't notice it.' _He looked at her in surpise, rather proud that she had understood his intentions. '_Doctor, what's wrong with Martha. She's acting weirdly. And that smell, it's like it's following her. What's happened to her?_'

'_We're dealing with Sontarans. A clone race. Now, they have a bit of hypnotic influence, that's like the factory workers. But they needed someone with intelligence. Someone on their side. Someone who could get close to us.'_

'_Martha. But she's not on their side...'_

'_Our Martha isn't. This one is a clone. Just feeding off of our Martha's memories.'_

_'Then where's ours?'_

'_That's what we need to find out._' Their hands broke apart as they rushed into the truck that held the base. "Change of plan!" he called to them.

"Good to have you fighting alongside us, Doctor," Mace said.

"I'm not fighting," he hold them. "I'm not-fighting. As in 'not' hyphen 'fighting', got it? Now, does anyone know what this gas is yet?"

"We're working on it," Martha told them.

"It's harmful, but not lethal until it reaches 80% density," a woman spoke up from the next row. Rose and the Doctor went down towards her. "We're having the first reports of deaths from the centre of Tokyo City."

"And who are you?" he asked offhandedly.

The woman stood and saluted. "Captain Marion Price, sir."

"Oh, Marion, that's my middle name," Rose said cheerfully. At the same time the Doctor began to grumble.

"Oh, put your hand down. Don't salute." he went back up by the Colonel, while Rose looked at the screens of the people by her.

"Jodrell Bank's traced a signal, Doctor, coming from 5000 miles above the Earth. We're guessing that's what triggered the cars." They could see a red blip a good distance from Earth.

"The Sontaran ship."

"NATO has gone Defcon One, we're preparing a strike."

"You can't do that, nuclear missiles won't even scratch the surface," he told them. "Let me talk to the Sontarans."

"You're not authorised to speak on behalf of the Earth."

Rose growled, and quicker that anyone was expecting, she was up by the Doctor's side. "Yes he does. He earned that authority a long time ago. He has saved this planet so many times that he has every right to defend it again. But if you don't think that he's good enough, then I will." The Doctor smirked, looking positively smug and proud as Rose berated the guy. "I am Rose Tyler. Earth born and a citizen of the United Kingdom. I may not be human anymore, but as a defender of my home planet I have every right to speak on behalf of it. Got that, mate?"

"Yes, ma'am." He saluted.

"That's better," she said brightly. "Now, I may be able to whip you lot in shape, but Sontarans... not so much. Doctor, why don't you do it for me?"

"Would be my pleasure," he said, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Fine," Mace grumbled as the Doctor used the sonic to connect the UNIT systems to the Sontaran ship.

"Calling the Sontaran Command ship under the Jurisdiction Two of them Intergalactic Rules of Engagement. This is the Doctor."

General Staal appeared on screen. "Doctor, breathing your last?" he said.

"My God, they're like trolls." Rose rolled her eyes and the Doctor sighed.

"Yeah, loving the diplomacy, thanks," he muttered to him. Picking up his voice, he turned back to the Sontarans. "So, tell me, General Staal, since when did you lot become Cowards?" He sat down on a chair and stuck his feet up on the desk. Rose stood behind him.

"How dare you!" Staal said in outrage.

"Oh, that's diplomacy?" Mace scoffed back.

"Doctor, you impugn my honour!"

"Yeah, I'm _really_ glad you didn't say belittle, 'cause then I'd have field day."

Rose sniggered. "I don't know. He seems to be pretty _short_ tempered."

The Doctor ginned at her. "Nice. But poison gas?" he said, turning back to Staal. "That's the weapon of a coward and you know it. Staal, you could blast this planet out of the sky, and yet you're sitting up above watching it die. Where's the fight in that? Where's the honour? Or are you lot planning something else? 'Cause this isn't normal Sontaran warfare. What are you lot up to?"

"A general would be unwise to reveal his strategy to the opposing forces."

"Ah, the war's not going so well, then? Losing, are we?"

"Such a suggestion is impossible?"

"What war?" Mace asked.

"The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans. It's been raging far out in the stars for 50,000 years. 50,000 years of bloodshed, and for what?"

"For victory!" Staal cried. "Sontar-ha!" He began changing, swinging his weapon in an arch and smacking it down in his palm. All the other Sontarans joined in the chant.

"Give me a break," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes. He pulled out the sonic and changed channels to a cartoon.

"Doctor, I would seriously recommend that this dialogue is handled by official Earth representation."

Ignoring him, the Doctor turned the channel back. "Finished?"

"You will not be so quick to ridicule when you see our prize. Behold!" He moved over slightly and the camera zoomed out to show the TARDIS behind him. They weren't at all shocked. "We are the first Sontarans in history to capture a TARDIS."

"Well, as prizes go, that's... _noble_." Rose grinned when she instantly realised what he was doing. Donna must be getting the transmission too. "As they say in Latin, _Dona_ nobis pacem. Did you ever wonder about its design. It's a telephone box. It contains a phone. A telephonic device for communication. Sort of symbolic. Like if only we could communicate, you and I."

"All you have communicated is your distress, Doctor."

"Big mistake, though, showing it to me. Because I've got a remote control. And my fiancée has a very strong connection with that ship. She can call it to her, if she knows where it is."

"Cease transmission!" The screen went blank.

"Oh, well," he sighed, standing up.

"Doctor, I can't do it from that far," she said quietly. "You know what happened last time. You made me promise not to do it again."

"I know, I know," he shushed her, kissing her on the top of the head. "Don't worry. You won't have have to."

"I'm getting stronger, though. I may be able to do it."

"Yeah, I know you are," he almost grumbled. "But I'm never letting you do that again. We need to train you up in your psychic abilities and completely forget about the Time Vortex Bad Wolf thing." Rose frowned at him in annoyance.

"That's achieved nothing," Mace snipped at them.

"Oh, you'd be surprised." He grinned as he walked off, Rose following along behind.

"You know," Rose said, a little bit of bitterness seeping through her voice. "If that was all you were trying to achieve, I could have just called the TARDIS." She held up her cellphone for the Doctor to see. He stopped, staring at the phone. Then suddenly he slapped his palm to his forehead. Why hadn't he thought of that?


	25. Poison in the Sky, The Factory is Taken

_**Hello! Okay, I have two apologies to make. 1 – This is a a rather short chapter. There just isn't really many places to cut it, and it's also a rather short episode. 2 – Sorry it took me so long. My computer crashed on me and I had to rewrite this three times. After a while you just tend to lose your muse if you rewrite too much. And then to top it off, I've been quite sick these last few weeks. I've gotten nothing done. I keep crashing as soon as I get home. And work is a little full out since there are two of us doing the work of four people.**_

_**But I seem to be going pretty good at the moment, so fingers crossed I can get more up soon.**_

_**In other news, my mother is engaged and they have finally set a date... ish. Sometime in January next year. And they've decided to get married on one of the islands like Rarotonga or something... I don't think I have ever not wanted to go over seas before now. Yes, it will be fun, but not with my family. On the bright side I can bring my lap top. On the down side, I will have to use the money I have been saving for the Auckland Armageddon Expo next year! No costumes, no spending money! Oh, and I am doing a lot of exercise, which is killing my liver. Because Mum says she doesn't want a fat bridesmaid... I'm 52kg! Gah!  
><strong>_

_**Anyway, enough about me, more about the story. I've introduced a bit more of my own plotline in here. So I hope you like it.**_

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><p>.<p>

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**The Factory is Taken**

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'_We have to find out what is in that gas. What is it for?'_ Rose said to the Doctor in their heads.

_'I have an idea as to what it's for. But we need to know what's in it to get rid of it safely. Ah, looks like Martha's got something.'_

_'Yeah, something she's trying to hide._'

He walked up to Martha and snatched a clipboard from her hands. He scanned over it.

"There's carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, but 10% is unidentified," she told him. "Some sort of artificial heavy element we can't trace. You ever seen anything like it?"

The Doctor shook his head and passed the clipboard to Rose to look at. "Must be something the Sontarans invented. This isn't just poison, they need this gas for something else. What could that be?"

'_Maybe it's something to help them... clone,_' Rose suggested. '_You know, like those little sea monkeys. You had to poor something in the water and they would grow.'_

The Doctor raised and eyebrow at her in amusement and was about to reply when they heard the UNIT higher ups giving out orders.

"Launch grid online and active," Captain Price stated loudly.

"Positions, ladies and gentlemen," Mace ordered. "Defcon One initiatives in progress."

"What?!" the Doctor cried, running over to him. "I told you not to launch!"

"The gas is at 60% density, 80% and people start dying, Doctor. We've got no choice."

"Launching in 60, 59, 58, 57, 56..." He ran his hands through his hair in panic. "World wide nuclear grid now co-ordinating. 54, 53..."

"You're making a mistake, Colonel! For once, I hope the Sontarans are ahead of you."

"North America, online. United Kingdom, online. France, online..."

"We have to do something!" Rose cried. "We have to stop them!" '_Donna's up there!_'

"I – I can't! There's nothing we can do!"

"India, online. Pakistan, online. China, online. North Korea, online. All systems locked and co-ordinated. Launching in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5..."

"God save us," Mace muttered. The Doctor looked at the screen with gritted teeth and Rose hid her eyes in his shoulder.

"...4, 3, 2, 1... 0."

The screen shut off. Rose let out a sigh of relief.

"What is it?" Mace demanded. "What happened? Did we launch? Well, did we?"

"Negative, sir," Price told him. "The launch codes have been wiped, sir. It must be the Sontarans."

"Can we override it?"

"Trying it now Sir."

"You lot are useless!" Rose cried. "I thought you were supposed to protect the Earth, not put it in more danger. Everyone would be better off if you just stopped. The Doctor and I have handled worse alone."

"Excuse me, Miss Tyler, but I know perfectly well how to do my job."

"You fired missiles at a race of aliens who love nothing more than war! They've been fighting for centuries with better technology than you'll ever have!"

"She's right. Missiles wouldn't even dent that ship. So why are the Sontarans so keen to stop you?" As he said this, he'd walked over to Martha. "Any ideas?" he asked her.

"How should I know?

Suddenly the radio crackled, drawing everyone's attention. "Enemy within! At arms! Greyhound 40 declaring absolute emergency. Sontarans within factory grounds, east corridor grid six."

Mace walked closer to the radio and began giving out orders. "Absolute emergency, declaring Code Red. All troops, Code Red!"

The Doctor tuned to him with wide eyes. "Get them out of there!"

Mace ignored him. "All troops, open fire."

"No!" Rose cried. She charged towards the radio, as if to grab it and speak to them all. "Don't! You can't-" Hands grabbed at her and she was held back. "Get the _hell_ off me!"

"The guns aren't working," Ross said over the radio. "Inform all troops, standard weapons do not work." The sound of multiple screams reached them and the sound of something hitting the ground. "Tell the Doctor it's that Cordolaine..." There was sudden silence across the radio, followed by cautious footsteps. "Hold on, sir, we have a civilian in the building. Hey! Ma'am. Excuse me, ma'am. You can't be here. This is a military operation. There are armed... offenders in this building. Let me escort you... um... what are you doing?" Everyone's brows creased in concern. Who was he talking to? There was no sound other than him, and there had been no reports of anyone entering the factory. "Wh-what is that? What are you doing? Ma'am, I have to-"

There was a bang and the radio cut out with deafening static.

"Greyhound 40, report. Over," Mace commanded. "Greyhound 40, report. Greyhound 40, report!"

"He wasn't Greyhound 40, his name was Ross," the Doctor hissed. "Now listen to me, and _get them out of there_!"

Mace stood with a grim face. "Trap One to all stations. Retreat. Order imperative. Immediate retreat!"

They could hear many shouts down the radio, and eventually someone replied. "We're out, sir. We don't know how many casualties. But they've sealed themselves in."

Mace sighed grimly. "They've taken the factory."

"Why? They don't need it. And would you two _please_ let go of my fiancée before she hurts you." At his words two men cautiously let Rose go, and she roughly shrugged them away. He sighed as he walked around the front. "Times like this, I could do with the Brigadier. No offence."

"None taken. Sir Alistair is a fine man, if not the best. Unfortunately he's stranded in Peru."

"Launch grid back online," Price informed them as she screen turned back on. But not a second later, it turned off again. "They're inside the system, sir. It's coming from within UNIT itself."

"Trace it. Find out where it's coming from, and quickly. Gas levels?"

"66% in major population areas. And rising."

Mace almost growled. "Doctor, Miss Tyler, with me, please."

.

Ten minutes later they were in a private room, discussing what they knew.

"Why are they defending the factory only after we were inside?" Mace asked.

"Well, there must be something in there they want to protect that wasn't in there before," Rose suggested.

"Yes!" the Doctor cried, gesturing at her. "They _wanted_ UNIT here. You gave them something they needed. Something now hidden inside the factory. Something precious."

"Then we've got to recover it. This Cordolaine signal thing, how does it work?"

"The bullets. It causes expansion of the copper shell."

"Excellent. I'm on it." Without another word he got up and left.

"For the billionth time, you can't fight Sontarans!" the Doctor shouted after him.

Rose sighed and shook her head. "He's a lost cause, isn't he? Still, we have a better option." She held up her phone and waved it in front of him.

"Ooh, yes! Brilliant!" He went to grab it, but she snatched it back.

"Ah, ah... First... This was my idea, after you went through that ridiculous message. So what do you say...?"

He gave her an exasperated look. "I can sometimes be an absolute idiot," he dead-panned, then a smile grew on his face. "But you, Rose Tyler, are absolutely brilliant!"

"Now that's more like it!" She laughed. She handed the phone to him as he hugged her and leaned in to give her a kiss.

"I love you," he said as he dialled.

"You too." It didn't take long for the phone to be picked up.

"Rose?" Donna said as she answered.

"No, it's me."

"Doctor? What was with that rubbish message? I had no idea what you were on about!"

"Yeah... Sorry about that..."

"Where are you two?"

"We're still on Earth. But don't worry, we have a secret weapon."

"What's that?" she asked.

"You."

"Oh," she groaned. "Somehow that's not making me happy. Can't you just zap us down to Earth with that remote thing?"

"Yeah, I haven't got a remote, though. I really should."

"You know I can-" Rose started.

"Yes, but you wont. We've been over this. Anyway, Donna, I need you on that ship. That's why I made them move the TARDIS. I'm sorry, but you've got to go outside."

"But there's Sonterruns," she said in fear.

"Sontarans," he corrected. "But they'll all be on battle stations right now. They don't walk around having coffee. I can talk you through it."

"But what if they find me?"

"I don't know, and I wouldn't ask, but there's nothing else I can do." He was starting to sound a little panicked and pleading himself. Rose bit her lip as she stood by listening. "The whole planet is chocking, Donna."

Suddenly, Rose perked up when she realised there was some way she could help. She went over to the Doctor and took the phone from his hand. "Okay, Donna, listen to me. Sontarans have one weakness, and you're going to need a weapon to get to it."

"A weapon?!" the Doctor cried. Rose ignored him.

"I need you to go to the corral strut on the right of the door. At the base of it, there's a notch. It will just look like a bump in the coral, but I need you to pull it."

She heard Donna doing so. "A mallet?" she said in surprise. "Is that the Doctor's mallet?"

"Yep."

"What is it with you two and the mallets?!"

"The TARDIS doesn't like them," Rose replied. "Way he bangs her about." She shot a glare at the Doctor and he rose his eyebrows, slightly taken aback. "But you'll probably need it. If you run into any Sontarans, you need to hit them with it. But um, not just hit them. There's a specific spot. A, um... a vent or something on the back of their neck. You need to hit that." Before she knew it, the phone was pulled from her fingers and was pressed back against the Doctor's ear.

"The probic vent," he said. "One firm hit will incapacitate the Sontaran."

"Okay... What do you need me to do?"

"The Sontarans are inside the factory, which means they've got a teleport link with the ship, but they'll have it deadlocked. I need you to reopen the link."

"But I can't even mend a fuse!" she cried.

"Donna! Stop talking about yourself like that. You can do this. I promise. Rose and I will be right here."

There was a creak and he guessed she was opening the door, a second squeak sounded like she closed it.. "There's a Sonterrun... a Sontaran," she reported, sounding a little scared.

"Did he see you?"

"No, he's got his back to me."

"Perfect. Did you see the vent? On the back of his neck, on the collar. Looks a bit like a plug, or a hole. You need to hit that."

"But he's going to kill me."

"I'm sorry. I swear, I'm so sorry. But you've got to try." Rose worried her lip as she watched him run a hand over his face and through his hair. They both waited anxiously, small noises coming from the other end of the line.

"Back of the neck!" came Donna's triumphant voice after a moment.

"Ooh!" he said happily. "Now then, you've got to find the external junction feed to the teleport."

"Wh - What's it look like?"

"A circular panel on the wall. Big symbol on the front. Like a – like a letter T wit a horizontal line through it. Or two F's back to back."

"Well, there's a door."

"Should be a switch by the side."

"Yeah, there is. But it's Sontaran shaped. You need three fingers."

"You've got three fingers," he told her.

"Oh, yeah," she said, her voice still very panicked. "I'm through."

"Oh, you are brilliant, you are!" he told her, holding the phone at a weird angle.

"Whoo! Go Donna," Rose said just loud enough so she would hear.

"Shut up. Right. T with a line through it."

"Doctor!" Rose hissed. He looked in the direction she was nodding and saw Mace entering the base again.

"Got to go. Keep the line open!"

"Did you just hang up on her?" Rose said, aghast.

"Don't have much choice-"

"Counter-attack!" Mace ordered, and the Doctor rushed out. Rose sighed. Poor Donna. She was stuck up there and was currently without the protection of the TARDIS. Clearly the Doctor needed people not to know about what he was doing, but she was too concerned for her friend. Friends. Both of them. If Martha had been replaced by a clone, then...

Martha! Something precious inside the factory. They were holding Martha! She rushed out to the Doctor's side to share the information.

"I said you don't stand a chance!" he shouted at Mace.

"Positions. That means everyone!" He threw a gas mask to each of them. Rose looked down at hers, moving it side to side. It really creped her out, but just the thought brought a smile to her face at the memories.

She grabbed his hand. '_Doctor. It's Martha. They're holding Martha, I'm sure of _it.'

'_Yeah, I had a suspicion,_' he replied.

'_It's like the Autons with Mickey. They needed him alive to keep the copy going, feed it the right information. They're keeping Martha alive to keep the clone _alive.'

The Doctor looked at her, slightly surprised. '_You, Rose Tyler, are absolutely brilliant!_' He planted a kiss on her lips, then together they began to move off when they heard a voice from behind them.

"You're not going with out me," Martha clone demanded.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied.

"Yeah, what would we do without you," Rose said. "You're my best friend."

Martha was. And she would stop at nothing to get her back. Stupid potato warriors be damned.


	26. Poison in the Sky, Fire in the Sky

_**Phew! Hi everyone!**_

_**Sorry this took so long. (Geez, this is like the lead into every chapter lately). The last few months have been chaos. I've been doing a lot of hours at work since we are re-branding. So two people redesigning the look for an entire company with 20 years worth of work. I thought I would have time during the Christmas break, but I haven't had a day to myself! Everyone wants to hang out with me and it's kind of getting exhausting. I love them, but come on!**_

_**And most annoyingly, I've had to deal with my piece of shit computer. It still crashes quite often, it no longer plays sound most of the time. I think the stars have to be in the right position. I have to restart it about three times a day, and half the buttons on the keyboard don't work. That has been the main reason for not updating. But I pinched the USB keyboard from my desk at work and managed to get this written up. I also have many pages worth of notebook stories to write up.**_

_**I hope you like it. It's also extra long.**_

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><p>.<p>

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**Fire in the Sky**

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The air was dense and hard to see through, but UNIT soldiers could still be seen running about. Everyone was beginning to gather around the factory. Everyone was wearing gas masks, and Rose and the Doctor were attempting to hold in their laughter at the vague sense of déjà vu. They looked at each other in the masks, sharing a knowing look.

"Latest firing stock. What do you think, Doctor?" Mace said, showing him a gun.

"Mummy?" Rose said innocently.

"Are you my mummy?" the Doctor continued.

"_If_ you two could please concentrate!" he growled. "Bullets with a rad-steel coating, no copper surface. Should overcome the Cordolaine signal." He gave one to the Doctor to inspect.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Rose said, shrugging a little. She wasn't a fan of guns, but if it could get them closer to the real Martha...

"The Sontarans have got lasers!" the Doctor cried. He held his arms out to indicate at the visibility as he looked about. "You can't even see in this fog. The night-vision doesn't work." He threw the bullet back in the box where it ricocheted back out.

"Doctor, they're just trying to help," Rose said, but she was drowned out by Mace.

"Thank you, Doctor, thank you for your lack of faith. But this time, I'm not listening." He pulled on his mask and went to address his soldiers.

"Even if he is dead wrong," she continued in a mutter.

"Attention all troops!" Mace called, demanding everyone's attention. "Sontarans think of us as primitive. As does every passing species with an axe to grind. They make a mockery of our weapons, our soldiers, our ideals. But no more!" The Doctor shook his head in frustration.

"He hasn't encountered many races, has he?" Rose said quietly to the Doctor.

"No_p_e."

"But no more!" Mace went on. "From this point on, it stops. From this point on, the people of Earth fight back, and we show them! We show the warriors of Sontar what the human race can do!" He turned his head and spoke into his com. "Trap One to Hawk Major. Go, go, go!"

Suddenly, loud sounds started to come from above them and everyone turned their heads to the sky. Around them, the fog began to clear and a shape could be seen above them.

"It's working! The area's clearing. Engines to Maximum!"

That was when the shape of the object became clear. It was an airship. A very familiar airship.

"It's the Valiant!"

"Oh, I _never_ thought I would be so happy to see that ship!" Rose cried. "Well, you know... other than that one time it meant seeing you again." The Doctor grinned at her, knowing what she meant.

"UNIT Carrier Ship Valiant reporting for duty, Doctor! With engines strong enough to clear away the fog."

The Doctor laughed as he walked over to the Colonel. "That's brilliant!"

"Getting a taste for it, Doctor?"

The Doctor looked at Rose and rolled his eyes. "No, not at all. Not me. Just giving credit where credit's due."

"How do you even have that thing?!" Rose asked him.

"UNIT acquired it after the 'strange disappearance' of 'Prime Minister Harold Saxon'. After your involvement and reports from the incident we were required to take it in for examination. It holds quite a lot of alien tech, so it remained in our possession."

Hand in hand, Rose and the Doctor went off to get into position with Clone Martha and the rest of them.

After an order form Mace, green beams – much like the ones that had destroyed the Sycorax ship – shot out from the ship, landing the first blow to the factory. UNIT hit hard and fast, they blew up entrances and shot down enemies. Not giving the Sontarans a chance to engage. And once the gate had been secured and a pathway opened up, they were ushered in to do their part.

They ran through the doors and corridors, surrounded by heavily armed officers. Mace was ahead of them, Clone Martha behind.

"East and north secure. Doctor?" They gave each other a nod and Mace rushed away with the soldiers.

The Doctor and Rose stayed behind and started in the other direction. "Donna, hold on. I'm coming," he said into the phone quickly. He put it back in his pocket right as Clone Martha caught up to them.

"Shouldn't we follow the Colonel?" she said.

"Nah, just us three, Martha Jones. Just like old times!" He was ahead, using the sonic to lead the way. Clone Martha was lingering behind and Rose saw her hit something on her phone.

"Yeah, the way it used to be... apart from the relationship status," she grinned as the clone caught up.

"Alien technology, this way," he said, holding the sonic high and leading them down the corridors. They walked through the warehouse, heading down dark, unlit stairwells. There wasn't a soul to be seen, which made things a lot easier. "No Sontarans down here. "They can't resist a battle. Here we go."

They walked through a door and entered a lab of some sort. The first thing they saw was Martha in a hospital gown, lying on some strange metal gurney thing with a metal device around her head.

"Martha!" she cried, running over to her friend.

"Ooh, Martha, I'm so sorry," he said to the unconscious figure. He went over just as Rose checked her pulse.

"She's alive. Look at this thing. I was right, they need her to keep it going."

The Doctor began checking Martha over, inspecting the head device. They heard the click of a gun and Rose looked up at the clone. The Doctor hardly even flinched. "Am I supposed to be impressed?" he said without looking at her.

"Wish you carried a gun now?" the clone asked.

"Not at all." Rose's answer however was teetering on the side of 'yes'. Seeing someone threaten her mate made her feel angry and protective. She wanted to knock the infernal thing out of the creature's hand and pummel her into the ground. But the Doctor didn't seem to have an issue, so instead she bit her tongue, settling for a glare instead.

"I've been stopping the nuclear launch all this time."

"Doing exactly what I wanted," he said, finally turning to face her. As he spoke he began to walk around her, leaving Rose beside the real Martha. "I needed to stop the missiles as much as the Sontarans. I'm not having Earth start an interstellar war. You're a triple agent!"

"When did you know?" she asked.

"What, you? Oh, right from the start. Reduced iris contraction, slight thinning of the hair follicles on the left temple. And, frankly, you smell. Even Rose noticed the signs. You might as well have worn a T-shirt saying 'clone'." By now he'd circled back around and was standing by Rose, behind Martha's head. The clone's gun had been trained on him the entire time. "Although, maybe not in front of Captain Jack. You remember him, don't you? 'Cause you've got all her memories. That's why the Sontarans had to protect her, to keep you inside UNIT. Rose is right. Martha Jones is keeping you alive."

Suddenly he pulled the device off Martha's head. She woke up, bolting up with a gasp. At the exact same moment, Martha's clone lent out a pain filled gasp, and fell to the ground clutching her chest. The gun clattered to the ground and the Doctor quickly ran over, kicking it away.

"It's alright, it's alright!" Rose tried to calm the startled Martha, pulling off the straps and giving her a hug. "We're here. We've got you."

"Rose!" she cried. "God, Rose." She turned to see the Doctor coming to help too. "Doctor! There was this thing! This alien, with this head..."

The ringing of Rose's phone interrupted her. "Oh, blimey, I'm busy," he said, answering the phone. "Got it?"

"Hey, are you okay?" Rose said, staying with her friend.

"Yeah, I-" She gazed around and she cut off when she saw the clone that was now slumping against some scaffolding. "Oh my god!" she gasped. "That's me."

"Yeah, they kind of... cloned you." She helped Martha to her feet. The poor woman was icy to the touch. "Doctor, give me your coat."

"Eh?" he said, interrupting his phone conversation with Donna.

"We need your coat. Martha's freezing!" Pinning the phone between his ear and shoulder, he shrugged the jacket off and chucked it to her. "Thanks!" He gave a nod, then went back to talking and starting to work on the teleport pod that was not far off. She gave the jacket to Martha, who gratefully wrapped herself up in it.

"Thanks," she said. She looked back over at her dying clone. "C-can I...?"

"Yeah," Rose nodded quietly. She helped her over most of the way, but stood back as Martha sat down in front of the other. It was surreal to see her best friend duplicated and staring at each other. Martha reached out a hand to help her.

"Don't touch me!" the clone snapped.

"It's not my fault," she said. "The Sontarans created you. But... you had all my memories."

"You've got a brother, sister... mother, and father," the clone panted. She'd gone pale and wasn't looking very good.

"If you don't help me, they're going to die."

"You love them."

"Yes. Remember that?"

"The gas!" the Doctor called out from the pod. "Tell us about the gas."

"Doctor!" Rose reprimanded as she rolled her eyes. This was something that only Martha could do. Only Martha could get through to herself.

"He's the enemy!" the clone shouted.

"Then tell me," Martha said, drawing back her attention. "It's not just poison, what's it for? Martha, please!"

The clone seemed to hesitate. She was clearly in a lot of pain, and clearly torn about the situation. Eventually she conceded. "Caesofine concentrate. It's one part Bosteen, two parts Probic 5."

"Clone feed!" the Doctor cried, smacking himself in the head. "It's clone feed!"

"Oh crap."

"What's clone feed?" Martha asked.

"Like amniotic fluid for Sontarans. That's why they're not invading, they're converting the atmosphere. Changing the planet into a clone world. Earth becomes a great big hatchery. 'Cause the Sontarans are clones, that's how they reproduce. Give them a planet this big, they'll create billions of new soldiers. That gas isn't poison, it's food!" He dashed back to the pod and continued to work on it as fast as he could.

"What is that, this years theme? That's the second race that's tried to turn Earth into a breading ground in the last few months!"

"Certainly getting a lot more invasions than usual. Earth is a good size and habitat for most. Not to mention it's only a Level 5 planet, so not the most threatening."

"My heart... It's getting slower," Clone Martha whimpered.

"There's nothing I can do," Martha told her.

"In your mind, you've got so many plans. There's so much that you want to do."

"And I will. Never do tomorrow what you can do today, my mum says. 'Cause-"

"'Cause you never know how long you've got. Martha Jones... All that life..." They looked at each other a moment longer, then the clone slumped over. Lifeless. Martha stared at her sadly before grabbing her hand and pulling her engagement ring off, slipping it back on her own.

Rose knelt down beside her. "You sure you're okay?"

Martha nodded. "A little unsettled, but I'm fine. I'm feeling better. And we're closer to stopping this whole mess."

"Yeah." She gave her a smile. She'd missed having Martha around.

"Now!" the Doctor suddenly shouted. They looked over to see the teleport pod activate, and then Donna was there, gasping in relief. She ran to the Doctor and gave him a hug, mallet still in hand.

"Have I ever told you how much I hate you?"

"Hold on, hold on," he said, giving her a quick hug before prying her off. "Get off me, get off me. I've got to bring the TARDIS down!" He dashed back inside the pod and soniced it. Something clearly happened, since he seemed satisfied, and he stuck his head back out. "Right now, everyone in. Martha, you coming?"

"What about this nuclear launch thing?" she said as her and Rose joined them in the pod.

"Just keep pressing 'N'. We want to keep those missiles on the ground." She gave a nod.

"B-but there's... two of them," Donna stuttered, just noticing the dead clone.

"Yeah, long story," he said.

"Martha was kidnapped and cloned," Rose answered.

"Okay, not so long story after all. Here we go. The old team, back together! Well, the new team."

"We're not going back on that ship!" Donna protested.

"No, no, no. No. I needed to get the teleport working so that we could get to..." He hit the button and they teleported into yet another pod. "...here! The Rattigan Academy. Owned by..."

They came face to face with a distraught looking Luke Rattigan walking towards them as he pointed a gun at them. "Don't tell anyone what I did!" he pleaded. "It wasn't my fault, the Sontarans lied to me, they-"

The Doctor walked past him snatching the gun out of his hand and tossing it away. "If I see one more gun..." he growled. The three women made a face at each other then went to follow him.

"You know, that coat... sort of works," Donna said to Martha. Rose shot her a glare feeling jealous that anyone but her would look good in the Doctor's coat.

"I feel like a kid in my dad's clothes," she said.

"Really?" Rose snorted. "That's not what I feel like when I wear it _at all_!"

At her words Martha hesitated, almost missing a step. "Uh... Am I safe to be wearing this?" she said uncertainly. "Like... do I even want to know what you two have been up to in, or on this coat?"

Rose stopped mid stride. Her eyes went wide and her cheeks flushed bright red. But she said nothing. Her eyes darted about, then she strode forward, walking even faster. Both Martha and Donna stared after her, then looked down at the coat.

"...This is coming off the second I find warmer clothes!"

.

When they caught up with the Doctor, they found him in the lab using bits and bobs to build something that was already half done. Luke was pouting sourly behind them as he rambled on.

"That's why the Sontarans had to stop the missiles. They were holding back. Because caesofine gas is volatile, that's why they had to use you to stop the nuclear attack. Ground-to-air engagement could have sparked off the whole thing."

"What, like set fire to the atmosphere?"

"Yeah, they need all the gas intact to breed their clone army. And all the time we had Luke here in his dream factory. Planning a little trip, were we?"

"They promised me a new world."

"You were building equipment, ready to terraform El Mondo Luko so that humans could live there and breathe air with this!" He clicked the last piece in place. "An atmospheric converter."

He looped the cable around his neck and dashed out of the room. Everyone followed him out onto the academy's front lawn. He set it down and began fiddling with the buttons. There was nothing much the others could do except stand by and watch. They looked out across the city, but the fog was so dense almost nothing could be seen.

"That's London!" Donna said aghast. She hadn't seen it since this had first started. "You can't even see it. My family's in there!"

"If I can get this in the right setting..."

"Doctor, hold on," Martha said. "You said the atmosphere would ignite."

"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" Having set it correctly he grabbed the remote and went to stand beside them.

"But, it's going to be like... burning off alcohol, right?" Rose said, seeing the logic. "It will burn off the surface and evaporate the bad stuff, right?" The Doctor just shrugged in his signature way that said 'well...' or 'hopefully'. "Crap."

He hit the button on the remote and a fireball shot up into the sky. They watched as it jetted up into the air, disappearing into the dirty fog. Suddenly the spot where the fireball had vanished burst into flame. A giant ring of fire started to consume the fog.

"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please..." he muttered, crossing his fingers as they watched. The fire burned across the sky, spreading out like a red sheet coving the Earth. Slowly the fire stared to disperse, and they blinked at the bright light and blue sky.

"Yes!" Rose cheered, turning to the Doctor and giving him a huge hug.

"He's a genius!" Luke said in awe and relief.

"Just brilliant," Martha grinned.

"Right, now we're in trouble!" he said, placing Rose down. He picked up the atmospheric converter and ran inside. Once again everyone followed him. On their way, Rose dashed into the lab, dragging Luke along with her.

"Hey!" he protested.

"Which one of these is a timer?!"

"What?" Confusion was clear on his face, but she just didn't have time for this.

"The Sontarans are going to be raging war against us now. The next logical step is to use that thing to stop them by using the teleport. But the Doctor tries to give people second chances. Right now the only way to set it off is by being on the ship. He would die. I need something that can put that thing on a delay."

"Right," he said with a determined nod. Quickly he dashed around the room, grabbing a small device and some tools. Then together they ran back out and caught up with the rest of them. The Doctor was already standing in the teleport, explaining what he was doing to the other two. "Wait!" he cried. The Doctor looked at him in surprise. "Give that to me. I'll be as quick as I can."

"What?"

"Just give it to him, Doctor," Rose insisted. Sighing, he handed the device over and Luke immediately started working on it. He went and stood beside Rose who suddenly turned to him and whopped him one.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"What do you think you were doing?!"

"Stopping the-"

"Yeah. With a thing that has no delay. To set if off, someone would actually have to sacrifice themselves. That's not happening. And you are especially not doing it! You can't leave me like that when you just proposed not four flipping hours ago!"

"He what?!" Donna and Martha cried in surprise.

"Oh. Yeah... We're engaged. Surprise." She gave them a small grin and they just continued to look at her in shock.

"Yep," the Doctor confirmed. "It was a bit of a-"

"Done!" Luke cried. He stood and handed the device back to the Doctor.

"Brilliant. What did you do to it?"

"Rose asked me to put a timer on it. I've set it to a five second delay. That gives you just enough time to get back. You may want to give them a second chance, but they won't take it. And I think you know that. Just remember that when you're up there. Don't be stupid, okay?"

The Doctor grinned at him as he stepped back into the teleport. "Thanks, Luke." The boy nodded back at him. Rose went over to him and linked her arm through his. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, you're not going without me. You promised. Remember?"

"Right then. Off we go." He hit the button, and the two of them disappeared.

.

When they arrived, they found themselves on what appeared to be a standard ship. The interior was almost identical to many other ships she'd been on. But the entire room was lit with a magenta hue. Sontarans walked around both with and without their helmets on. Their arrival was immediately noticed.

"Oh, excellent!" Staal grinned.

"General Staal," he said, placing the device on the ground and putting his hand on the button. "You know what this is. But there's one more option. You can go. Just leave. Sontaran High Command need never know what happened here."

"Your stratagem would be wise if Sontarans feared death. But we do not. At arms!"

"Yeah, but would it be the warrior's death you wanted?" Rose goaded. "Just blown up for nothing."

"I'll do it, Staal. If it saves the Earth, I'll do it."

"A warrior doesn't talk, he acts!"

"I'm giving you the chance to leave."

"And miss the glory of this moment?"

"Glory? What glory is there in starting war with a near defenceless planet?"

'_All weapons targeting Earth, sir. Firing in 20_.'

"I'm warning you!"

"And I salute you! Take aim!"

"Doctor, they're not going to listen."

"Shoot us, I'm still going to press this! You'll die, Staal."

"Knowing that you die, too."

'_Firing in 15_'.

"Doctor now!" Rose said desperately. "We have ten seconds before it's too late press it now!"

"For the glory of Sontar!" Staal cried. "Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!" The others joined in chanting with him.

"Now!" she shouted.

The Doctor slammed his hand down on the button and dropped it. The second it was out of his hands, Rose pressed the button on the teleport and they were taken back to Earth. As soon as they were back, they were helped to their feet, and everyone scrambled to the window. Not a second later a faint explosion could be seen in the sky, lighting up like a second sun. And then it was gone. They all slumped down against the wall, letting out small chuckles of relief.

"You're engaged?!" Donna cried belatedly.

"Yeah," Rose laughed breathlessly.

"Congratulations!" The four of them exchanged hugs, still giddy with relief.

"Are you going to arrest me?" the small voice broke them up. They turned to see Luke beside them, still slumped against the wall. He looked glum and rather pitiful.

"Well," he Doctor said, sitting down beside him. "I may travel around in a police box, but I don't arrest people. It's not really my job."

Luke nodded. "So what's going to happen to me? I want... I want to make this right... That's going to take a long time."

"Well, you're a smart kid. You could easily do something good with your life."

"Do – do you think UNIT would hire me? I could stop something like this happening again."

The Doctor gave him a small smile. "Well, they've got a science division. I could... put in a good word for you."

"Thanks," he said quietly. He knew he had done something wrong. It was something he regretted. Something he swore he would make right. And that was something the Doctor could forgive.

* * *

><p><strong>?...DW...?<strong>

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><p>Rose and Donna were sipping at their tea when Silvia walked through the door.<p>

"Hello!" she said cheerfully as she came in and placed the groceries in the counter. It was the first time Rose had seen the woman not grouching, and it was a bit startling. "The streets are half empty," she went on. "People still aren't driving. There's kids on bikes all over the place. It's wonderful. Unpack that lot, I'm going to see if Suzette's alright."

She practically skipped out of the house again and Wilf turned back to the two of them.

"I won't tell her," he said. "Best not. Just keep it as our little secret, eh?"

"Yeah," Donna agreed.

"You know, she still reminds me a bit of my mother," Rose told them. "She didn't like the Doctor at first either. Mind you, he did bring me home a year late. Everyone thought my best mate had murdered me." She saw the look on Wilf's face. "But that was just a one time thing. He's gotten better at driving."

Wilf chuckled. "Well, alright then. You go with them, Donna. You go and see the stars. And bring a bit of them back for your old Gramps."

"I will." She got up and gave him a kiss on top of his head. "Love you."

Rose stood and have him a kiss on the cheek, too. "It was lovely meeting you, Wilf."

"You too, Rose. Now, you look after my little girl."

"I will, I promise."

And with a grin, the two women left the house. They went out onto the street where the TARDIS was parked not to far off. The Doctor and Martha were waiting for them inside.

"How were they?" Martha asked as soon as they walked in.

"A bit shaken," Donna told them. "But they'll be fine. Same old stuff. So, you going to come with us? We're not exactly short of space."

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Rose grinned. "We could go to Geldon. The density of the ground is so soft it's like walking on marshmallow... and it tastes a bit like marshmallow, too."

Martha laughed. "I have misses all this... but, you know, I'm good here. Back at home. And I'm better for having been away. Besides." She flashed them her ring. "Someone needs me. Never mind the universe, I've got a great big world of my own now!"

"Well, don't forget to call us," Rose said, giving her a hug. "We can visit any time. And you're always welcome to come back, even if it's just for one trip... And we actually just mean one trip this time."

"I will. And I better be getting an invitation to your wedding!"

"Same goes for you," the Doctor said.

"You bet ya. I'll see you guys-"

Suddenly the TARDIS started to shake as she headed to the door. It was such a strong tremor that it send all of them to the ground. The door had slammed shut and the central column was set in motion. Somehow the TARDIS had started flying herself.

"What?" he cried. "What?!"

"What's happening?" Rose shouted, trying to get over to the console with him.

"Doctor, don't you dare!" Martha yelled.

"No, no, no! I didn't touch anything!" he managed to stand enough to check the screen. "We're in flight, but it's not me!"

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know, it's out of control!"

"Doctor, just listen to me!" said Martha. "You take me home, take me home right now!"

"I can't!" he shouted back. "I can't stop it!"

The TARDIS had set her course. And all they could do was follow.


	27. Doctor's Daughter, Jenny-rated Anomaly

_**Hey everyone!**_

_**Blimey I've had a busy few weeks. Celebrated my 22nd birthday two weeks ago. And I spent the last two weeks doing some artwork for someone. My friend Rosie Roulette is releasing her first album at the end of the month, and I did all her album artwork. So that was the disk, the case which was 6 panels, and a 16 page lyric book... I also did all the photoshop for it as well as the design. I was working hard out both at home and at work to get it done. I can't wait to see how it turned out.**_

_**And while I was doing the artwork at home I started watching Classic Who from the beginning. I had it open to the side so I could see while I painted. I've seen a decent amount of episodes, but none of them were in order. So I've started from the very beginning and I've almost finished Season 2. Honestly, filming technology and acting back then was so basic it's quite hilarious.**_

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><p>.<p>

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_***The Doctor's Daughter***_

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**Jenny-rated Anomaly**

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"What the hell's it doing?" Donna shouted over the racket of the TARDIS. They were all holding on for dear life as she shook more than usual, taking them somewhere unknown.

"The Controls aren't working!" the Doctor shouted back. Another jolt sent him careening to the ground, and he only just managed to save himself on the jump-seat. From there he had the perfect view of his severed hand, bubbling away in its jar. "I don't know where we're going, but my old hand's very excited about it!"

"Old hand?" Donna cried. "I thought that was just some freaky alien thing! You telling me it's yours?"

"Well..." was all he said in response.

"It got cut off," Martha told her.

"In a sword fight above London," Rose added.

"He grew a new one."

"What are you, like lizards?! Cut a bit off and it just grows back!"

"Only in the first fifteen hours of regeneration. It's weird, but handy," Rose said. Then a huge grin grew over her face and she giggled. "He-he, _handy_."

"God damn it," Martha said in exasperation. If she could spare her hands, she would have face-plamed.

Donna just looked at them in bewilderment. "You lot are completely _impossible_!"

"Not impossible," he said indignantly. "Just... a bit unlikely!"

Suddenly a small explosion went off somewhere in t

he middle of the console, sending them all flying back. Smoke billowed out of the machine, thickly clouding up where Rose had been thrown. It looked an almost sickly muddy green colour, and smelled foul. Instantly she began choking, not even noticing as the TARDIS shuddered to a halt. She was so racked by hacking coughs, she could barely move out of its way.

"Rose!" he Doctor cried. He jumped up and dragged her out of the smoke. "Are you alright?"

She choked a few more times, her eyes watering. "Yeah," she rasped, unsuccessfully trying to suppress another cough. "I think I just need some water." Nodding, he dug into one of his pockets for a while, before pulling out a water bottle. She took it and sipped at it gratefully. "Ta."

"Feeling better now?" Donna asked, rubbing her friends back. Rose nodded in reply. Really she felt like her lungs were on fire, but she didn't want to worry anyone.

"What's out there?" Martha wondered.

"I don't know," the Doctor said, his eyebrows raised high. "Must be important for the TARDIS to drag us here herself. We should check it out."

He jogged across the console room and was out the doors before anyone could even blink. Rose rolled her eyes. "Come on. We should make sure he doesn't..." She coughed. "Get into trouble." Both women looked at her with raised eyebrows at that statement, but their expressions turned to sympathy when she began to cough violently again. She took another sip from the water bottle and they all followed the Doctor out.

They found themselves in a dimly lit tunnel, it looked like it were under a building, or underground. Random piles of junk and construction materials lay around, looking rather hazardous. It didn't seem very special at first glance.

"Why would the TARDIS bring us here?" he said in confusion.

"Ooh, I love this bit," Martha said giddily. Rose grinned at her in agreement.

"I thought you wanted to go home," Donna teased.

"I know but, all the same..." They watched as the Doctor investigated his surroundings. He licked his hand, pulling a face, and looked off down the tunnels. At least he wasn't licking everything else right now. "It's that feeling you get."

"Like you swallowed a hamster!" Donna said quietly in the same tone.

"What?!" Rose burst out.

She understood what Donna meant, but hearing that analogy was strange and unexpected. She regretted the outburst immediately after, when she began to choke again. At the same time there was a loud noise and soldiers came running at them, guns raised.

"Don't move, stay where you are!" one ordered. He seemed rather young and had a pock marked face. "Drop your weapons!"

"We're not armed!" the Doctor said, raising his hands to show them. The others all followed suit, except for Rose, who was now doubling over, still coughing. "Look, no weapons. Never any weapons. We're safe." Concerned by the coughing fit, Martha went to check Rose.

"I said don't move!" the kid shouted.

"She's choking!" she said, ignoring their order. "And I'm a doctor." She knelt down and placed a hand on Rose's back.

"Look at their hands. They're clean," another said.

Rose kept coughing as Martha checked her over. "Rose, this isn't looking good. This is hospital worthy smoke inhalation. There was a toxin or something at least!"

"Alright, process them. Him first," the young one said.

Rose and Martha hardly noticed as the soldiers grabbed the Doctor and began dragging him to a machine. Rose continued to cough, and suddenly something came out of her mouth. At first Martha thought she was vomiting, but when she looked closer she saw a small cloud of golden energy, tainted with a bit of black. The toxin dissolved in the golden energy and slowly floated upwards, disappearing from sight. Martha went pale. Rose dragged in a deep breath.

"Oi, oi! What's wrong with clean hands?!" the Doctor cried.

"Leave him alone!" Donna shouted at them.

"Rose, what was that?"

"What was what?" she rasped. She looked up at her friend, still curled up slightly from the pain.

"That – that... I haven't seen that since..." Since Rose had regenerated. That was the last time she'd seen something like that. Even if she had picked up the courage to say that, she didn't get the chance. Rose had finally noticed what was happening around her. They had dragged him to a machine and forced his hand inside.

"Doctor!" she cried. She gave another cough, but no where as bad as it had been. "What are you doing to him, let him go!"

"Something tells me this isn't about to check my blood pressur- Aagh!" He jumped as something started happening in the machine.

"Stop it!" Rose shouted, only to begin coughing again.

"What are you doing to him?" Donna cried.

"Everyone gets processed," the younger one said. He clearly seemed to be in charge of the small group.

The Doctor winced. "It's taking a tissue sample. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! And extrapolated it! Some kind of accelerator?" It let him go and he went stumbling back, looking at his hand. The three women dashed over to him.

"Are you alright?" Martha asked, grabbing the hand to see the skin grazed off the top. It was only shallow, but blood was beading on the top, and it looked nasty.

"I don't know," he murmered, his attention stuck on something else. "Now that's just..."

Suddenly another part of the machine they hadn't noticed started making sounds, drawing their attention. It was attached to the small machine by a bunch of wires and tubes. This part was much larger, big enough to fit a person or two. It seemed to have doors of some sort and the semi-opaque windows were glowing blue. The doors slid open and smoke began to billow out. A figure could be seen standing inside. When the figure stepped out, they saw a slim girl with blonde hair. Her blue eyes looked about curiously. But she didn't have long to do so. The young soldier went up to her and placed a big gun in her hands.

"Arm yourself," he instructed her. She just looked at the gun in her hands like it were a foreign object she had to decipher the meaning of.

"Where did she come from?"

"From me," he said, staring at the young woman in shock as she began to handle the gun as if she'd had years of practice.

"From you?! How? Who is she?" Donna questioned.

"Well... she's... well, she's my daughter."

"Wait, what?!" Rose cried, her voice sill hoarse.

The girl cocked the gun and grinned at them. "Hello, Dad."

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"You primed to take orders, ready to fight?" the young soldier asked the blonde girl. She joined them at a small barricade of junk not far off.

"Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocols, sir. Generation 5000 soldier, primed and in peak physical health. Oh, I'm ready." She aimed her gun at the ready.

Rose's brow furrowed. "Did you say *cough* daughter?"

"Mm. Technically," he told them, still fairly distracted looking at the girl.

"Technically how?" Martha asked.

"Progenation," he said. "Reproduction from a single organism. Means one parent is biological mother and father. You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids, then recombine them in a different arrangement, and grow... Very quickly, apparently."

"So that tissue sample they took, that made her?!" Donna said incredulously.

"Something's coming!" the girl shouted. Indeed, from down the tunnel they could see figures running towards them. Strange looking figures... humanoid, not human. They seemed to be part fish, tanks of a bright green fluid in front of their mouths allowing them to breathe. They were also in army gear and armed with weapons. They started shooting as soon as they were in sight and range.

"It's the Hath!" the young soldier cried out. They began to shoot back, even the girl.

"Get down!" she called back to them. Quickly, the four of them got low and made their way behind some debris.

"We have to blow the tunnel! Get the detonator!"

"I'm not detonating anything!" the Doctor shouted, checking on a man who had fallen.

"That would be a first," Rose muttered. There was a muffled scream and her head snapped over to where Martha had ducked over to. A Hath had grabbed her, covering her mouth, and was dragging her away. "Martha!" She went to go help, but as she got up, bullets whizzed over her head and one of the other soldiers dragged her back down again. She could only watch as the Hath took Martha further away. And she saw the blonde girl kick another Hath back and picked up the detonator.

"Blow that thing!" the young one shouted. "Blow the thing!"

"No! Doctor, Martha!" Rose shouted. The Doctor looked over to see Martha being dragged away over where the TARDIS was. She was struggling and squealing in protest. He saw the girl about to hit the detonator. "No! Don't!" But it was too late. She slammed her hand down on the button and an alarm sounded. He grabbed her by the shoulders, and everyone ran for cover just as the tunnel exploded.

After the light had faded, and it seemed like most of the debris had stopped raining down, they made their way back over. The tunnel had collapsed, completely blocking their way. And Martha and the TARDIS were stuck on the other side... or worse... buried under it.

"You've sealed off the tunnel. Why did you do that?!" he demanded of the girl.

"They were trying to kill us!"

"Martha and our ship are on the other side!" Rose said.

"They've got our friend!"

"Collateral damage," the girl said offhandedly. "At least you've still got them. He lost both his men. I'd say you came out ahead."

"Collateral...!" Rose was so angered by that statement that she could hardly speak... Well, that and her throat still burned.

"Her name's Martha," Donna growled. "And she's not collateral damage, not for anyone! You got that, GI Jane?!"

"I'm going to find her," the Doctor said to his two companions, turning to leave.

"You're going nowhere!" the soldier said, aiming his gun at them. "You don't make sense, you lot. No guns, no marks, no fight in you... I'm taking you to General Cobb. Now move."

He used his gun to indicate which way he wanted them moving, and hesitantly they began do as he said. The Doctor was trailing at the back so that he was in between his companions and the gun. A protective hand was paced on Rose's lower back as he gently guided her forward. She looked rather frazzled and covered in soot from both the explosion inside the TARDIS, and the one out. He wanted to get her to the TARDIS where he could make sure that she was okay.

They walked through the tunnels for about five minutes in silence. A few minutes in, Rose's breath became laboured. Being as fit as she was from all the years of running with him, it was not normal. Rather than make a scene and get the guns pointed at them again, he grabbed her hand so he could talk to her privately.

'_Rose, are you okay?_' he asked.

'_Yeah, just... not quite recovered from the smoke is all. It's a little hard to breathe at this pace._'

He rubbed his thumb against hers in comfort. '_Try using your respiratory bypass. You'll use up less oxygen and it won't have to go through your lungs._'

'_Yeah, I still find that weird,_' she smiled. '_Besides, I think I've only used it on accident._'

'_It's not that hard. I showed you how, remember? Open up your diaphragm, like you're about to project a line across a stage or something. Now hold your breath, like you're jumping underwater... That's it. Now take small shallow breaths through your nose. Your body should start doing it automatically._'

He watched and helped guide as Rose walked with her eyes closed, focusing on her breathing, or general lack of. After a minute she fell into a breathing pattern that one could mistake her for dead if they didn't look hard enough.

She grinned a little. _'This feels really weird._'

'_You'll get used to it. Just try not to over do yourself.'_

_'Yeah, because that's not a possibility here at all.'_ She lay on the sarcasm thick as she pointedly glanced around them.

"I'm Donna," Donna suddenly said, breaking the silence out of their minds. "What's your name?"

"Don't know," the girl replied. "It's not been assigned."

"Well, if you don't know that, what do you know?"

"How to fight."

"Nothing else?"

"The machine must embed military history and tactics, but no name. She's a generated anomaly," the Doctor said.

"Generated anomaly?" Donna seemed to mull the words over. "Gerne-rated. Well, what about that?"

"What? Generated?" Rose scoffed.

"No! Jenny!"

"Jenny," the girl said, testing it out. "Yeah, I like that. Jenny."

"Got my vote."

"What do you think, '_Dad_'?" Donna joked.

"Good as anything, I suppose," he said a bit tersely.

"Not what you'd call a natural parent, are you?"

"You've obviously never seen him with... little kids," Rose commented.

"They stole a tissue sample at gun point, and processed it. It's not what I call natural parentage."

"Rubbish! My friend Nerys fathered twins with a turkey baster. It don't bother her."

"You can't extrapolate a relationship from a biological accident," he argued.

"Uh, a Child Support Agency can!" She was starting to sound a little annoyed and upset.

"Wait, hold on," Rose interrupted them, pausing a moment to clear her throat. "Are you _seriously_ against the fact that Jenny was produced from a machine? Using your DNA? Isn't that just like looming?" At her comment, the Doctor practically stopped walking. He looked at her sharply and opened his mouth to protest. But Donna beat him to it.

"What's looming?"

"Time Lords are sterile," she told her. "Some curse or something that stopped them from having kids. Some could still give birth naturally, but most had to use this thing could a loom. From what he's told me it's this machine thing. You and your mate give it some of your DNA, and it spouts out a baby for you. Only I think it takes a little longer, a month? And it gives you an actual baby with no pre-set knowledge. Still, sounds like the same thing to me."

She could feel the Doctor's mood darken even further. She could also tell that he was upset about something, and it wasn't just Jenny

"It's nothing like that," he said stonily. She saw a quick image of a child flash through his mind. "Biology doesn't make someone your child. Just 'cause I share certain physiological traits with simian primates doesn't make me a monkey's uncle."

"I'm not a monkey!" Jenny cried, rounding on him. "Or a child."

Rose let go of the Doctor's hand and went over to her and linked their arms. Jenny looked at their joined arms in confusion a moment before she seemed to accept the gesture and continued walking. "It's okay, Jenny. He's just being a grumpy pants. Same DNA, bet your just as brilliant as him."

She gave the girl a smile as the made their way through the tunnels. She knew that Jenny could be brilliant. That the Doctor would absolutely love her. They just had to show him, was all.

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><p><em><strong>As with most fics along this line, Jenny is Rose's daughter too. It took me WAY too long to figure out how I was actually going to do it, but I finally came up with something.<strong>_

_**I like stories that I can take away from the script a bit more. Of course... that's REALLY going to start happening the further I go along. Especially in the next series.**_

_**Anyway, hope you liked it. Fingers crossed to get the next chapter out soon!**_


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